Jade
by Lillie Flowers
Summary: The SGC gets a surprise visitor from the future who holds the key to saving the Asgard. Can she be trusted? What will it mean for the future of our favorite SG-1 couple? J/S adventure/family/romance. Set at the end of Season 4. Enjoy!
1. Chapter 1

**Hey there shippers! I've missed you, so I decided to give you a sneak peek at the story I'm working on. It has turned out a lot different than I originally planned. I'm anxious to see if you guys will like it.  
**

**Please review and let me know if you like the direction it's going. Any ideas or thoughts? Thank you so much!**

**OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO**

"We can never have a normal day in this place, can we?"

Colonel O'Neill stepped into the gateroom, eying the strange object on the ramp in front of him and stuffing his hands into his pockets.

"Depends on what you call normal," Daniel replied, squinting at the large box curiously. "Having a big chunk of ice come flying through our stargate isn't really that strange for us."

Jack stepped past the defense team poised at the bottom of the ramp and made his way up to Daniel. The two of them stared at the box for a few moments, and then Daniel reached his hand down and pressed it to the side of the object.

"That's weird. There's a slight vibration."

The Colonel reached out and jerked Daniel's arm back. "Just…don't touch it," he said with a frown.

Sam peeked down at O'Neill and Daniel from the control room, where she stood with General Hammond over the dialing computer. Shaking her head at them, she returned her gaze to the screen in front of her.

"I don't understand it, sir," she said in confusion. "It was definitely SG-1's IDC, but we never received any signal from the other side. If it _was_ Teal'c, he may be in some kind of trouble."

Hammond nodded to Walter. "Dial P3R-119."

The stargate clicked and whirred below them, and Sam waited anxiously for it to dial. Teal'c had only been gone six hours, and his mission to assist SG-2 was not supposed to have been anything more than simple recon. He'd only gone because it was a planet that he had visited before, while in service to Apophis. She couldn't imagine a reason why he would have dialed Earth and sent a foreign item through without sending them some kind of message. Jack and Daniel backed off the ramp as the last chevron locked into place, and the vortex rushed out over the frozen object. Hammond immediately sent out a signal to Teal'c.

"Teal'c, this is General Hammond. Come in."

There was a pause, and then Teal'c's voice boomed around them.

"I am here, General Hammond."

The General crossed his arms as he spoke. "We received…" He looked down at the object in the gateroom. "…something through the stargate. It was sent using SG-1's IDC. Is there a problem?"

There was a pause, and the radio fizzed for a moment.

"All is well," Teal'c finally replied. "However, we have sent no transmission through the stargate. We are some distance away, surveying the planet's mineral formations."

Hammond frowned, sharing a concerned look with Sam.

"Understood. Major Coburn?"

While waiting for the Major to respond, Hammond gave Sam a nod, and she turned and headed down to the gateroom as the General instructed SG-2 to cut their mission short and head home. She stepped between the armed men around the ramp, taking her usual place beside Colonel O'Neill.

"What do you think?" he asked her curiously. "Another message from the future?"

Sam turned to look at him, feeling a slight rush as their eyes met and he smiled down at her.

They had grown so much closer in the last year, and Sam felt that they were really starting to come to terms with everything that had happened. It had been difficult, especially after the things they'd had to admit to each other, but she told herself that they were professionals, and she was content with things the way they were.

_Mostly._

There was a brief silent exchange between them, and then she turned back to face the stargate as it whooshed closed.

"This is a little more than a note, sir. But who knows?"

She walked hurriedly up the ramp with Daniel, Jack following behind and looking a bit nervous.

"Just don't touch it," he reminded them anxiously.

"This is technology I've never seen before, Sam," Daniel told Sam as she stepped up next to him. "Looks like some kind of stasis chamber."

She wiped the condensation off of the control panel with her hand, and O'Neill reached out instinctively to grab her wrist.

"I said…" He paused a moment, looking down at her with a warmth in his eyes that Sam knew all too well. He took too long to drop her arm, so she gently pulled it away, trying not to let her embarrassment show.

"…don't touch," he mumbled, finishing his thought and slipping his hands back in his pockets. Hoping Daniel hadn't noticed, Sam tried to hide the blush on her cheeks and returned her focus to the frozen object before them.

"Seems simple enough," she said, eying the controls. "Looks like this switch is to deactivate it."

Daniel raised his eyebrows, looking over the rest of the box. "What, is there a person in here?"

"Whoa, guys," O'Neill objected. "Slow down. We're not thawing out this thing in the gateroom, whatever it is."

Sam frowned, running her eyes over the object. "We can put it in an isolation room, sir. There _could_ be someone inside-"

"Or there _could_ be a bomb inside," O'Neill countered.

"I don't think so, sir," she replied. "I think Daniel's right. It appears to be a stasis pod of some kind."

Hammond entered the room, followed by Dr. Fraiser, who stared curiously at the box. He ordered the defense team to stand down, and Sam filled them in on their theory of what the box contained. The General looked over at O'Neill.

"What do you think, Colonel?"

Sam stared expectantly at him, hoping he wouldn't be too negative. She was excited at the prospect of examining this technology.

Jack shrugged his shoulders. "Well, whoever sent this thing, they somehow had our IDC. I'd like to know how, sir. I think it's worth a look."

Hammond nodded and ordered to have the object moved to an isolation room, and Sam followed eagerly. She would have liked to help Janet open the object, but Colonel O'Neill steered her into the observation room, remarking that Frasier was fully capable of flipping one red switch on her own. Daniel and General Hammond followed behind them, and they all peered curiously at the scene before them.

Janet and her team donned environmental suits, just to be safe, and once the room was secure, she hit the switch on the object and stood back.

There was a loud hiss, and the box began to glow, emitting a bright white light from within. Several seconds passed, and the light faded, the top of the object sliding open with a metallic scraping sound. Sam and the others craned their necks to see inside, and Janet leaned over the opening. After a few seconds, she stepped aside, surprise evident on her face as she gave the others a clearer view.

The opening revealed a young girl, in her late teens, her body wrapped in a plain white cloth. Her face and hair were damp, and her skin pale, but even from where she sat in the observation room, Sam found her looks somewhat familiar.

As the others watched, Janet finished her tests and gave her team the okay, stripping off the environmental suit hanging over her body. She nodded to General Hammond, and he hurried with Sam, Daniel, and O'Neill out of the observation room and into the area below. Janet had the girl lifted out of the stasis chamber and onto the table in the middle of the room, immediately hooking her up to a monitor and checking her vitals.

"She's definitely alive, sir."

They all looked down at the girl lying on the table, and Sam felt an uneasy feeling in her stomach. There was definitely something familiar about the unconscious figure in front of them, and an uncomfortable thought wedged its way into her mind.

_She looks like me._

She wasn't the only one who thought so, either. Daniel and Jack were both looking back and forth between the girl and Sam, and Daniel spoke excitedly.

"Sam, what if this is-"

"Daniel, I know what you're thinking," she interrupted, shaking her head. "But no way. It's not possible."

Jack looked confused. "What? What's not possible?"

Ignoring him, Daniel turned to face Sam. "Think about it. It was our IDC, and this is clearly advanced technology…it _is_ possible."

"What's possible?"

They both turned and looked and O'Neill, and he stared blankly back at them. Janet looked back and forth between Daniel and Sam, and finally she spoke.

"I can run some tests, but I don't see how-"

The girl behind her moaned slightly, and Sam jumped. She suddenly felt immensely uncomfortable, and she began to back up towards the door.

"I'll just…wait in the observation room," she mumbled. Jack raised his eyebrows at her, and she gave him a small smile, silently telling him she was fine as she left the room. By the time she made it back behind the glass above them, the girl was beginning to twitch slightly. She raised an arm to reach out for something, and Janet took her hand.

"It's alright. You're safe."

The girl opened her eyes, and Sam saw Janet take a step back. She looked up through the glass at Sam and then back at the young girl lying in front of her as the girl blinked her eyes at the doctor and smiled.

"Janet?"

Everyone in the room stared at the girl in astonishment, and Janet looked around at the others before answering softly.

"Yes, that's me. Do I know you?"

The girl blinked a few times and shook her head. "No, but it's good to see you." She nodded in Daniel's direction and gave him a wide smile. "Hey, Daniel."

Looking confused, Janet stepped out of the way to let General Hammond walk up to the bedside.

"I'm General Hammond of Stargate Command. I was hoping you could tell us-"

The General was cut off when the young girl spotted Colonel O'Neill standing off to her right, batting at a piece of equipment that was hanging off the counter. As soon as she saw him, her eyes went wide and she leaped from the bed.

"Dad!"

O'Neill backed up in shock as the girl ran up to him, wrapping her arms around his middle. Sam shook her head in bewilderment, backing away from the glass so she wouldn't be seen.

_Oh, no, no, no…_

Jack was staring at the General, trying to pry the girl off of him. "Look, I don't know-"

"Oh, I'm sorry." The girl backed off and wiped her eyes, sniffling quietly and tugging the blanket up around her. "You have no idea who I am. I'm so sorry, I was just so excited…"

General Hammond frowned and looked around the room in frustration. "Can anyone tell me what's going on?"

The young girl stepped forward, holding out her hand.

"Yes, sir. Sorry, sir."

The General shook her hand, looking a bit dazed, and Sam felt faint when she heard the girl's next words.

"My name is Jade. Jade Carter O'Neill."


	2. Chapter 2

**Well, I said I was going to wait a few days before I posted another chapter, but I have some kind of review addiction, so here goes...I hope you like it!  
**

**OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO**

_This can't be happening._

Sam groaned, her forehead pressed against the desk as she hid her head in her arms. She'd ducked into Janet's office, trying to escape the chaos that had erupted in the isolation room down the hall. It had been almost half an hour now, and she still sat hiding in the dark at her friend's desk, hoping desperately that no one would notice she was gone.

_Jade Carter O'Neill?_

She'd known the moment she saw the girl's face that it was a possibility. She knew perfectly well how Colonel O'Neill felt about her, and as much as she tried to ignore them, the feelings she had for him could be almost overpowering at times. Still, she couldn't imagine either of them letting their guard down enough to risk a court martial, risk breaking up SG-1…and then to get pregnant? Her head spun at the thought, and she let out another groan.

"Carter?"

_Oh, please, no._

When she didn't lift her head, she heard O'Neill walk slowly into the room, stopping next to her and stuffing his hands into his pockets.

"Uh…Carter?"

She sighed loudly and looked up, feeling slightly sick. "Yes, sir?"

He shuffled his feet awkwardly. "Hammond wants to see us."

"Of course he does."

Jack winced, and he opened and closed his mouth a few times, trying to come up with something to say.

"She might not be who she says she is, you know."

Sam shook her head. "Did you see her? She looks just like me, and of course she would be-"

She stopped herself just in time, but Jack cocked his head sideways, clearly reading her thoughts.

"Mine?"

Sam blushed furiously, shaking her head and standing quickly. "No, no. We couldn't…sir, I'd never-"

"Relax, Carter." O'Neill looked down at his boots as he kicked lightly at the desk. "We can't get in trouble for something we haven't done yet."

This didn't make her feel any better, but she swallowed and took a deep breath.

"Right. I'm coming."

She numbly followed the Colonel down the hallway, stepping behind him into the elevator. It suddenly felt way too small, and she hugged herself defensively.

"What is she doing here?" she asked, more to herself than to Jack. "Did _we_ send her back? I had to know how it would affect the timeline…why would I-"

"Carter, please," Jack moaned, rubbing his eyes. "Just be patient. I'm sure she'll have some kind of explanation." He smiled a little at her, leaning his head against the wall behind him. "If she _is_ your kid, then she's probably a genius."

Sam tried to loosen up. She knew he was making an effort to ease the tension.

"Sir…" She hesitated, and he lifted his head, raising his eyebrows.

"What?"

She chewed nervously on her bottom lip. "If this actually is…_our_ daughter…" She paused again, taking a deep breath. "Are we going to be able to deal with this?"

The Colonel just shrugged. "I don't see why not. We've dealt with worse, right?"

Sam cringed. "Hardly."

His eyebrows shot up at the word, and the elevator door slid open. She ducked out into the corridor before O'Neill could respond, hurrying up the stairs and making her way through the control room and up to the General's office. Hammond waved her in, waiting until Jack stepped inside and closed the door before he began.

"Colonel, Major. Sit down."

Sam frowned at the chairs in front of the General's desk, wishing she could be anywhere but in that room. O'Neill plopped down and crossed his arms, and she reluctantly did the same.

"I realize this is a bit of an awkward situation, but the fact is, we have no evidence as of yet to support this young woman's claims. Dr. Fraiser's going to run some tests, and in the meantime, I'd like to find out why she's here, and how she was able to get her hands on SG-1's IDC."

Sam blinked her eyes and leaned forward in her seat. "General, I think we should at least consider the possibility that she may be telling the truth. It's not like we haven't dealt with time travel before, sir, and she does…well…" She looked over to Jack for help, and he finished her thought for her with a playful grin.

"She does have Carter's eyes."

Hammond frowned and laced his fingers together over the desk in front of him. "Major, I realize there are physical similarities, but there _are_ other explanations. For all we know, this could be some kind of elaborate Goa'uld setup, and we are not going to buy into this girl's story until…_unless_ it's verified. Is that understood?"

Sam nodded and mumbled, "Yes, sir."

As they stood to leave, Hammond leaned forward over his desk.

"There's one other thing."

He hesitated, looking uncertain, and Sam exchanged a nervous look with Jack.

"I hate to have to ask this, but it's going to come up, and I'm going to need to have something to tell the President."

Jack raised his chin and stated firmly, "General, Major Carter and I have never had any kind of inappropriate relationship. You have my word."

Sam nodded in agreement, and the General seemed satisfied.

"Thank you, Colonel. Dismissed."

Sam followed O'Neill out of the room, they walked silently down the stairs and back to the elevator. She glanced around the hallway, hoping someone else would join them as they took it back up, but the door slid open and she reluctantly followed him in alone. As soon as the elevator began to move, Jack turned to face her.

"Look, Carter," he said firmly. "We're not going to let this be weird, okay? We haven't done anything wrong, and even if this _does_ turn out to be…our kid from the future, well…" He stopped, unable to finish the thought. Sam just sighed.

"Then it's going to be weird, sir."

Jack groaned and leaned his head back against the wall.

The doors slid open a short time later, and she and Jack made their way back to the isolation room, walking in to find Janet chatting enthusiastically with the young girl. She was dressed in a simple set of civilian clothes, her bare feet crossed beneath her knees as she sat up on the bed. She smiled brightly when she saw Colonel O'Neill walk through the door.

"Hey!"

Her eyes went wide when she spotted Sam behind him, and the two of them stared at each other, Sam getting her first good look.

The girl's eyes were large and bright blue, a perfect reflection of her own. She found herself matching other features: Jack's ears and mouth, her nose and hands…it was a perfect combination of their looks. The girl's hair was still slightly damp, and it trailed down to her shoulders. It was darker than Sam's, and she stole a glance at the silver streaks in the Colonel's hair, trying to remember exactly what color it had been when she first met him.

"Wow," Jade whispered quietly, interrupting her thoughts. "You're so beautiful."

Sam blushed and stepped up beside the bed, mumbling a thank you.

"I mean, you're beautiful where I come from, too," the girl corrected herself. "But, wow, you're just so young!"

Jack cleared his throat beside her, and she scooted forward, reaching out to squeeze his arm.

"Yeah, yeah, you're pretty too, Dad."

He stepped back, frowning. "Uh…that's not what I…Look, my name is Jack. How about you call me that, okay?"

Releasing his arm, Jade shook her head. "I'll try, but that is so weird."

Janet stepped away, mouthing "Good luck" to Sam.

"It's Jade, right?" Sam asked, still unable to keep her eyes off of the familiar features in front of her.

"Yup, Jade Car-"

"Yeah, yeah." Jack interrupted. "We know that part. What we don't know is how it is that you got here."

She pressed her lips together in a nervous smile, gesturing to the stasis chamber that lay on a table across the room.

"You sent me here, in that."

Jack glanced over at the object on the table. "Doesn't look much like a time machine."

"It's not," Jade explained. "It was just to keep me in stasis. I wouldn't have survived the trip otherwise."

"But how-"

"I can't tell you anything about it," the girl interrupted apologetically. "Sorry, but it hasn't been discovered here yet. You'll just have to trust me."

_Naturally._

"You said _we_ sent you?" Sam asked skeptically.

Jade smiled up at Sam. "Yes. I know what you're thinking."

_I doubt it._

Sam tried to smile at the girl, but she was afraid it didn't come out particularly friendly.

"You're thinking there's no way you would have sent your daughter back in time, because the chain of events following my introduction into this timeline would most likely distort it to the point that I might never even be born. Am I right?"

Sam blinked in surprise, and Jack flashed an I-told-you-so grin.

"Partly," she finally answered.

"Well, trust me," Jade said, her eyes darkening. "If I'm not able to fix this timeline, it's not going to matter either way."


	3. Chapter 3

**Thanks so much for all your reviews last chapter! I absolutely LOVE getting them. Please keep it up! You guys are awesome.**

**Sorry for the long chapter here...there was a lot of explaining to do in a short period of time.  
**

**SPOILERS FOR THE FINAL EPISODE OF STARGATE SG-1**

**OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO**

The briefing room was quiet that afternoon, everyone's eyes on the strange girl sitting next to Sam at the table. Now that the effects from the stasis pod had mostly worn off, it was astonishing how much the girl looked like Sam, and seeing the two side by side was almost eerie.

Jack didn't mean to stare, but he just couldn't help it. He wasn't sure he wanted to believe the girl's story, but every time she looked up at him, he couldn't help the twinge of pride he felt from the idea of Jade being his daughter.

_Our daughter._

He suddenly realized that everyone was looking at him, and he turned to General Hammond and blinked.

"What?"

"I asked if you were listening, Colonel, but I think the answer to that question is obvious."

Jack shifted uncomfortably, gesturing to the girl sitting across from him.

"Sorry, General. It's kind of hard to concentrate with Mini-Carter over here staring at me."

"Please stop calling me that," the girl protested with a frown. "Don't pretend you don't know my name."

Jack frowned back, opening his mouth to make a retort when Sam cleared her throat.

"Jade," she began, giving Jack a scolding look. "We need to know what you're doing here, and how you got the deactivation code for our iris."

Jade looked surprised by the question. "Well, obviously, you gave it to me."

"Obviously," Jack repeated with a sarcastic smile.

The girl rolled her eyes and went on. "You can be as skeptical as you want. Dr. Frasier's tests will come back, and then you'll see. As for what I'm doing here, it's a little complicated."

Jack leaned back and linked his fingers together behind his head, and General Hammond gestured for her to continue, so Jade leaned forward over the table.

"Okay. I'll try to sum up. Where I come from, things have gone a little bad for our planet. There's this race of aliens that we came in contact with, called the Solaris, and they're unlike any we've run across before. The only thing we've got that seems to be a match for their technology is our Asgard weapons that we've refitted our fleet of ships with…" Jack raised his eyebrows at this, sharing a surprised look with Carter. "…but unfortunately, we haven't been successful in fully reproducing their technology. Without their help, the most we could do was keep the hostile aliens back, taking out the first wave of ships that they sent to our galaxy. We knew that we wouldn't be able to hold off another attack, and we started trying to come up with alternative solutions. That's where I came in."

"Wait," Jack interjected. "You said 'without their help'. Why won't they help us out? Did we do something to offend their little gray butts? 'Cause last I checked-"

He paused, confused by the saddened expression on Jade's face.

"What?"

She sighed and looked down at her hands. "Actually, Dad, where I come from, the Asgard no longer exist."

Ignoring the title she had thrown at him, Jack tried to process this bit of information as Daniel sat up straight in his chair.

"What do you mean?"

The girl shifted uncomfortably in her seat, looking up at the concerned faces around the table.

"You haven't learned this yet, but the Asgard have a very serious problem. What do you know about how they reproduce?"

Grimacing, Jack replied, "Uh…if it's all the same to you, I'd rather not think about it."

Sam gave Jack a reproving look, and she answered, "It hasn't really come up. Why do you ask?"

Jack noticed with interest that Jade tended to focus mostly on him when she spoke, and she raised her wide blue eyes to meet his before she turned to look at Sam.

"Well, basically they're all clones. They essentially download their consciousness into a new body when the old one is no longer usable. In theory, that would make them immortal, but the way they've used this cloning process over the years has started to degrade the Asgard genome."

"Well, that makes sense," Daniel commented. "A copy of a copy of a copy…after a while, they would start to become unstable."

"Exactly."

Jack frowned, not liking where this was going.

"So…what? You're saying they just copy themselves to death?"

Jade chewed a little on her bottom lip, reminding Jack of the many times he'd seen Carter make the same face. He shifted his gaze to Sam, and she met his eyes and smiled slightly, obviously reading his mind.

"Not exactly," the girl finally said. "See, their last attempt to try and fix the problem resulted in this horrible disease, and instead of letting themselves die slowly…well, they destroyed their entire planet."

Jack sat back in surprise. "They _what_?"

The General spoke up from the other end of the table. "You're saying that the Asgard will eventually commit mass suicide?"

Jade stared down at her hands. "Yes. They gave us their computer core, containing their most sophisticated technology and the sum of all of their knowledge, and then they made sure that no one could get access to anything else." She looked up at Sam with a painful expression. "It was so hard on you…" She gestured to the others around the table. "…on all of you actually. It was an incredible loss."

Daniel spoke up from his seat next to Jack. "So, you're here to prevent the destruction of the Asgard."

This was a pleasant thought, and Jack looked over at Jade expectantly.

"Yes," she answered firmly. "I am."

"How do you plan to do that exactly?" Daniel asked, pushing his glasses up and squinting curiously at her.

She twirled a lock of hair around her finger. "As I said, it's complicated."

Jack gave her a wide smile. "Oh, we live for complicated."

Sam flashed a grin his way from across the table, and Jack felt a familiar sense of warmth run through him. He could sense his thoughts starting to drift into dangerous territory, and he struggled to return his concentration to the girl across the table as she began her explanation.

"Three weeks from today, if Mom and I did the math right…" Carter's eyebrows shot up at this, and Jack noticed Daniel trying to hide a grin behind his linked fingers. "…there's going to be a battle fought between the Asgard and the Replicators. It's not a particularly significant battle, except that during the fighting, they lose a small research station set up on one of their occupied planets." Jade pulled her feet up into her chair, folding them beneath her as she leaned forward restlessly. "The Asgard scientist who was working there lost all of his research on the life-extension project, and instead of beginning again, he decided to redirect his efforts to military research. What he didn't realize was that he was on the verge of discovering something vital to solving their cloning problem."

Daniel shook his head and held up his hand. "Wait, how do you know all of this?"

Jade looked annoyed and frowned at Daniel. "I told you, they gave us their computer core with all of their knowledge, their entire history. Our scientists have been working for years, coordinating with scientists from other races, trying to find a solution to the Asgard's problem." Daniel still looked skeptical, but he settled back into his chair and gestured for the girl to continue.

"Three years before I was sent here, they figured out the solution. Or, really, they figured out that the _Asgard_ had figured out the solution. That one scientist whose research was destroyed was months away from finding the cure, the cure that their other scientists developed later, but without the flaw that caused their destruction."

Jack blinked a few times, trying hard to follow where all this was going. Thankfully, Sam jumped in to give him a hand.

"So, if we can prevent this research station from being destroyed, we can give the Asgard a chance to save themselves."

"And," Daniel added. "Hopefully in the future, save us."

Jack still wasn't satisfied.

"Hold on. You said they figured this out three years ago? Why didn't they send somebody back already?"

After he'd said the words out loud, he frowned and rested his chin in his hand, wondering if time travel actually worked the way he thought it did.

"Well…" Jade looked uneasy, and she began drawing imaginary shapes on the tabletop with her finger. "As you might imagine, the government has found it necessary to make very strict laws about time travel. Namely, that it's not allowed." She glanced up at General Hammond, who was listening carefully from his seat at the head of the table. "See, they've kept it a secret that methods of time travel have been discovered, just like they've kept the stargate program a secret."

Jack felt his head spinning a bit, trying to keep up with which of Jade's references were of the future, and which were of the present.

"It's become kind of a political mess," the girl continued. "My parents have been fighting for three years to get permission to send a message back that could save the Asgard, but even after the threat of the Solaris, the government still felt that it was too great a risk. They were afraid of causing irreversible damage to our timeline, so my parents were denied access to the technology."

Sam shared a look with Jack and mumbled sarcastically, "There's a surprise."

"So," Daniel asked slowly. "How did you get here?"

Jade smiled sheepishly. "My Dad…and Teal'c actually, they…um…they broke into…well, let's just say they borrowed the technology needed to send me back to this time."

She looked nervously back at the General, waiting for his response. His mouth twitched thoughtfully before he spoke.

"Miss O'Neill," he began, and Jack cringed, noticing that Sam looked equally uncomfortable at hearing the name. "This is all very fascinating, but the fact is, we have no means of verifying your story. Surely, you don't expect us to simply take you at your word."

She sighed and dropped her chin into her hand. "No, I don't."

It wasn't until he saw Daniel's amused expression that Jack realized that he and Jade were in identical positions, and he sat up quickly, slipping his hands underneath the table.

"Look," Jade said, frustration creeping into her voice. "I realize you have your doubts, but I _need_ you to trust me. I was sent here by my parents to save this planet. I swear to you, that's the truth."

General Hammond sat up straight and folded his hands in front of him. "Well, Dr. Frasier should get her test results back by tomorrow morning. If that part of your story checks out, it'll be a start. In the meantime, I hope you understand that you'll have to stay here on the base."

Jade nodded, looking relieved. "Yes. Thank you, sir. I understand."

Jack rubbed his face with his hands, hoping they were about to be dismissed. He suddenly felt exhausted, and he glanced at his watch, surprised to see that they had only been sitting in the briefing room for twenty minutes. It felt like hours.

"Colonel, will you please escort this young woman to her quarters?"

Jack raised his head and shifted his glance from General Hammond to the girl across from him.

"Uh…me, sir?"

Jade grinned and stood from her chair, and Sam gave Jack a look of pity. He tried to send her a telepathic message, hoping she'd ask to come along. Based on the look she was giving him, he found it extremely unlikely.

"Dismissed," the General said, pushing away from the table and heading back to his office.

On her way to the door, Jade spun on her heel and held up one finger.

"Oh, General, I almost forgot!"

Hammond turned around and raised his eyebrows.

"In two weeks, you are going to have a two-hour window where you can contact Supreme Commander Thor and explain the situation to him." She swallowed nervously and added, "I hope you've made up your mind about me by then. Once that window is closed, it'll be too late to do anything that can ever save this planet."


	4. Chapter 4

**I hope you guys are having a great weekend. I am stuck at work...I'm not going to get a day off till next Sunday! Bleh. Anyways, here's your next chapter. I wonder if you guys picture Jade the same way I do. I just adore her! **

**(Froggy, I did get your review. I don't think you were the only one having problems with the site. I didn't have near as many reviews as usual, so either not very many people like this story, or other people were having a hard time signing in too)**

**Please review! It makes my day!**

**OoOoOoOoOoOo**

"Had dinner yet?"

Sam looked up from her computer to see Daniel leaning in the doorway, a warm smile on his face. She sighed and lifted her fingers off the keyboard, stretching her arms over her head and standing slowly.

"Not yet. You headed that way?"

He nodded, and Sam leaned over her desk to tap a couple of keys, saving her work before she followed Daniel out of the room. They walked silently to the elevator, and Sam waited until the door slid closed before she spoke.

"Daniel," she said, turning to face him and trying to keep the panic out of her voice. "What am I going to _do_?"

He looked a little confused, and he crossed his arms in front of him. "You mean if she's really your kid?"

"Yes!" She threw up her hands in frustration. "God, Daniel, I'm not old enough to be that girl's mother! And what about Colonel O'Neill?" She lowered her voice, almost whispering her next words. "What if she really is…_ours_?"

Daniel smiled, looking slightly amused. "Sam, I don't know what you're so worried about. I'd think it would be…" He shrugged his shoulders. "…I don't know…good news."

She knew exactly what he was trying to say, and she frowned at him disapprovingly.

"Don't. Just don't, okay? This is hard enough already."

After a quiet laugh, Daniel took a deep breath and let it out slowly, looking thoughtful.

"Look, this is hardly the first time you and Jack have had to deal with something awkward like this." Sam opened her mouth to protest, but Daniel cut her off. "It's not that different, Sam. Just try to think of this girl's mother as…as a Samantha Carter from an alternate universe."

The elevator doors slid open, and Sam sighed.

"I'll try."

They made their way down the hall and into the mess hall, and Sam stopped short in the doorway. Daniel peeked over her shoulder and began to laugh.

Colonel O'Neill and Jade sat across from each other in the middle of the room, both with their elbows on the table and their chins resting in their hands. They stared intently at each other, and Sam couldn't help but smile at the identical expressions on their faces. She and Daniel slowly walked up, and Sam took a chair next to Jack, neither of the O'Neills glancing up.

"Favorite color," Jack challenged.

"Peridot," Jade answered swiftly.

"Favorite sport."

"Hockey."

"Favorite TV show."

"The Simpsons."

Jack squinted a little, and Sam shared an amused look with Daniel.

"Where's my tattoo?"

Jade sighed, looking a little bored. "You don't have any tattoos, Dad."

Not ready to give up, Jack tried going a different direction.

"When did I meet Daniel?"

"On your first mission to Abydos."

"When did I meet Carter?"

"On your second mission to Abydos."

"Where did I take her on our honeymoon?"

"Colonel!" Sam blushed furiously, and Daniel blinked behind his glasses, looking a little disturbed at the thought.

"Minnesota," Jade replied, sitting up straight and raising her chin defiantly. "What else you got?"

Sam realized suddenly that she had not actually considered that she and Colonel O'Neill could have been married in the future. She couldn't help the small smile that tugged at the corners of her mouth at the thought of being Mrs. Jack O'Neill.

"What was my first girlfriend's name?" Jack asked, unshaken by Jade's words. Sam wondered briefly if he had thought more about their future together than she had.

Jade blinked a moment, and then frowned in a very O'Neillesque fashion.

"Jeez, I don't know."

"Aha!" Jack cried, pointing a finger at her.

"Oh, for crying out loud, Dad, why would I know the name of your first girlfriend?"

"Colonel," Sam interrupted, starting to feel a bit uncomfortable. It seemed like everything the girl said and did was a reflection of either O'Neill or herself, and she wasn't sure how she felt about that. Jack's eyes lit up and he waved his hand in her direction.

"What about Carter?"

_Uh oh._

"What about her?" Jade asked curiously.

Jack grinned and gestured for Sam to take part in the conversation. She shook her head no, and Daniel jumped in for her.

"Alright. What's Sam's favorite color?"

The girl smiled wide, her eyes warm as she looked over at Sam.

"Jade."

Sam just stared, an odd feeling sweeping over her. Jack and Daniel exchanged a look next to her, but she kept her eyes on the young girl across the table. She almost felt transfixed, unable to look away. After a moment, she shook her head, trying to clear her mind.

"Colonel, I thought you were supposed to take her to her quarters."

Jack shrugged and dipped his spoon into the bowl in front of him. "She was hungry."

Daniel raised his eyebrows and looked down at Jade's empty dish. "So you gave her jello?"

Jade grinned suddenly, jumping from her seat in excitement.

"Teal'c!"

She practically squeaked out the name, running to meet the Jaffa standing in the doorway and wrapping her arms tightly around his middle. Teal'c raised an eyebrow and looked questioningly at his friends, and Jack gestured for him to take a seat at the table. Teal'c dragged Jade with him as he pulled out a chair, and she returned to her seat across from O'Neill, a bright smile on her face.

"Teal'c," Jack sighed. "This is Jade."

Teal'c bowed his head in her direction. "General Hammond has informed me of the situation."

Daniel got up from the table, wandering over to the buffet as Teal'c eyed the girl next to him curiously.

"She does indeed resemble Major Carter."

Jade just laughed. "I get that a lot."

After a bit, Daniel returned to his chair, handing Sam a plate of roast beef and mashed potatoes. She thanked him and dug in, surprised at how hungry she was. Jade kept her wide, blue eyes on Sam as she ate, and after a moment, Sam dropped her fork onto her plate in irritation.

"Okay, what?"

Jack elbowed her and whispered, "See? It's annoying, right?"

Jade blushed and looked down at the empty bowl in front of her.

"Sorry, Mom. I just-"

"No, no, no." Sam shook her head and returned to her potatoes. "Not Mom. No. You can call me Sam, or Carter, or ma'am, or anything you like, but not Mom."

Jade looked a bit offended, but Sam tried not to notice. There was no way she could get through this with this girl talking to her and Colonel O'Neill as if they really were her parents.

"Carter," Jack scolded. "Be nice, huh?"

"Sorry, sir," she mumbled.

"It's fine," Jade said with a shrug. "I know this must be weird. I wish I could tell you about me." She sighed, leaning back in her chair. "I wish I could tell you about yourselves."

Daniel and Sam both shook their heads, and Jack looked confused.

"Is this one of those time paradox things?"

Sam swallowed her potatoes and rested her fork on her plate. "Well, not exactly. It's just that, if she really is from the future, then she's already caused a manipulation in our timeline, just by being here. And if the Asgard really _are_ going to die out in the future, and we do something to change it, it's going to drastically alter the current timeline. As it is, we're talking about irreparable damage, and the more she tells us about the future, the more reshaping of the timeline there will be. It's better if she tells us as little about the future as possible."

Jack just blinked at her. "I've seen that movie. I'm pretty sure everything works out for the better."

Jade giggled from across the table, and Daniel rolled his eyes.

"It will perhaps be better for the Asgard," Teal'c commented. "Unfortunately, there is no guarantee that the result will be positive for the universe as a whole."

Jack just shook his head. "You're making this way too complicated. We got a heads up from the future before, remember? Probably saved our butts, too. You didn't seem to have a problem with that."

Sam watched in annoyance as Jade stuck a spoon into her mashed potatoes, swallowing a bit bite before she spoke.

"Look, guys, you all argued about this for a very long time. I know it's a big risk, but we did the best we could to limit the damage, and if we didn't do anything, it wouldn't just be the Asgard who'd be gone from existence. Trust me, even Mom…_Sam_…was onboard by the end."

The table grew silent, everyone lost in thought as Jade picked at Sam's dinner. Finally, Colonel O'Neill rose from his chair and gestured for Jade to follow.

"Alright. Bedtime, kiddo."

Sam gave the girl a small smile as she got up to leave, and she watched Jack guide Jade out of the room with his hand on her back. There was something natural about the two of them together, and she found herself hoping, very deep down, that just maybe Jade was telling the truth.


	5. Chapter 5

**I've had a couple of requests to pick up the pace. Unfortunately, I think these chapters are kind of necessary for the story. If it's going too slow for you, maybe you should just wait a few days and read a little later, after I get to the action. Just a thought.  
**

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Jack made it back to the base early the next morning, stopping the elevator a couple of levels short of the control room to check on their guest. He was amused to find Carter leaned against the door of the guest quarters, peering in the window with her hand against the glass.

"What'cha doin?"

She jumped and stepped away from the door, obviously embarrassed.

"Sorry, sir. I was just…" She trailed off and smiled nervously, and Jack stepped past her to peek in the window.

"She still sleeping?"

"Yes, sir. General Hammond asked me to take her to see Janet when she gets up." She paused before adding, "You want to come along?"

Jack smiled and turned around, crossing his arms as he leaned against the door.

"If you want me."

He hadn't really meant the words to come out the way they did, but he certainly didn't mind the way it brought a slight blush to her cheeks as she tried to cover her embarrassment with a smile.

"Um…I'd like you to come, yes. And I'm sure Jade would like your company."

There was a light knock on the door behind him, and Jack jumped a little, turning to see the girl's face in the window.

"Can I come out?" she asked through the glass.

Sam pulled the card key from her pocket and opened the door, the young girl stepping out into the hallway and slipping her arms around Carter with a yawn.

"Good morning," she said sleepily, and Jack watched with amusement as Sam gave the girl an awkward hug.

"Um…good morning. You sleep okay?"

Jade nodded and combed her fingers through her hair, the loose waves sticking up at funny angles around her face.

"Yeah. Morning, Dad. Did Dr. Frasier give you guys the test results back yet?"

Sam shook her head and gestured for the girl to walk with her to the elevator. Jack rubbed the back of his neck and followed the two girls down the hall, noticing how they looked almost identical from the back, if it weren't for the hair and Carter's more womanly figure. Walking slowly behind her, Jack dared to let his eyes wander over Sam's curves, enjoying the way she fit snuggly into her BDU's, the slight sway in her walk, her shoulders back and head high, her hair just brushing the skin visible above the back of her collar…

"What do you think, Colonel?"

Jack blinked as Carter stepped into the elevator and turned to face him, and he gave her a blank look.

"Sorry, what?"

Jade laughed quietly, tossing her hair over her shoulders and slipping her hand into his. Jack glanced down at their linked fingers and raised his eyebrows at Sam, but she just shrugged.

"I asked if you think the General will let Jade leave the base, if the test results come back positive."

As the doors slid closed behind him, Jack held Sam's gaze and tried to convey some of what he was thinking.

_If the test results come back positive…_

He had been trying not to think about what was going to happen if it turned out the girl holding his hand actually was his daughter. It wasn't that he wanted her to be lying. In fact, Jack was fairly certain he'd be devastated if she wasn't telling the truth. Still, there were so many complications. What was he going to do with a nearly grown teenage girl, and how would he and Carter be able to keep any kind of professional relationship if they really did have a child together? Things were hard enough already, but knowing that they were going to be involved somewhere down the line would only further complicate things between them. And what would happen once they completed their mission? Would Jade ever be able to return home? If not, where would she live? Would she be able to lead any kind of a normal life? The questions spun around in his mind, and Sam gave him a reassuring smile as she pushed the button on the side of the elevator, her quiet way of letting him know that she understood.

"I doubt it," Jack finally answered. "At least, not for a while."

After riding up the rest of the way in silence, the three of them walked together into the infirmary, where Janet stood talking in a low voice to General Hammond. They ceased their conversation when Jack and the others stepped into the room, and Janet smiled warmly at Jade.

"Hey, there. How'd you sleep?"

The girl shrugged and shifted her eyes to the file in Dr. Frasier's hands.

"Fine. Are those the test results?"

Sharing a look with the General, Janet nodded, and Jack saw Sam stiffen slightly as they followed the doctor out of the infirmary and into her office. Jack shut the door, holding his breath as Janet dropped the file on her desk.

"Well, it looks like Jade is telling the truth, Colonel."

_Thank God._

"DNA testing clearly shows that you and Major Carter are this girl's biological parents."

_Wait...oh, crap._

Jack's relief was only momentary, as the implications of Janet's words hit him like a ton of bricks. Sam seemed a bit shocked, and she dropped down in the chair next to him, Jade kneeling next to her and gently petting her arm.

"I know," she said soothingly. "It's a lot to take in. Please don't be upset." She glanced up at Jack and scrunched up her nose with a sideways grin. "Told ya'."

Jack stared down at her for a moment, the gears in his mind sticking as they struggled to turn. Part of him was extremely excited at the thought of sharing this bright, beautiful creature with Sam, but the other part was rattling off a string of curses in his head, and he looked over at Hammond, feeling a little dizzy.

"So…what now?"

The General eyed the girl squatting down on the floor and sighed.

"Honestly, Colonel, I have no idea. I suggest you take some time to learn what you can from this young woman about what her plan is for preventing the destruction of the Asgard. In the meantime, I have a couple of phone calls to make."

Sam sat up in her chair, and Jack felt pained at seeing the distraught look on her face.

"General Hammond," Jade said, standing and stuffing her hands into her pockets. "There's one thing I'd like to mention here, and then I don't ever have to say it again, because it might be a little awkward for everybody."

Jack stifled a groan and eyed the door behind Carter, planning a quick escape if things got too uncomfortable.

"Go ahead," the General ordered.

"Okay. Well, you know I can't tell you everything about what's going to happen between Major Carter and Colonel O'Neill, but I can tell you this." She glanced up at the ceiling and furrowed her eyebrows, as if she were trying to recall a memorized line. "In my time, my parents were married and no longer working together. I know for a fact that there was nothing about my coming into the world that was against regulations." She seemed satisfied with these words, and she glanced down at Sam with concern.

"You okay, Mom…I mean, Sam?"

Carter seemed to be calming down somewhat, and she nodded up at Jade and pressed the girl's hand, both of them shifting their eyes over to Jack. The room suddenly seemed very small, and he began feeling a little overwhelmed, glancing back at the door and wondering how quickly he could dash out of it once they were dismissed.

"I appreciate your reassurances, Miss O'Neill," the General said, rubbing his temple with two fingers. "I'll convey them to my superiors."

Janet scooted forward in her chair behind the desk and shuffled a small stack of papers. "I have a few more tests to run, but I believe we can be reasonably sure that Jade is _not_ a Goa'uld agent sent to destroy us."

The girl giggled a little, clearly the only person in the room who was pleased with the way things were going.

"Colonel," the General said sympathetically, taking Jack's attention away from his exit strategy. "I understand that this is…a bit of an odd situation, but I need to know if you and Major Carter can handle this, or if I need to take the two of you off duty for now."

Jack squeezed his eyes shut, wondering if maybe he could wish himself out of the room.

_There's no place like home…_

"Colonel?"

He peeked open one eye, but alas, the little copy of Carter still stared up at him, and now Dr. Frasier was looking at him like she was thinking of taking his temperature.

"Sorry, sir. No, there's no need for you to remove us from active duty. We can handle it, right Carter?"

She nodded and stood from her seat, taking a deep breath and trying to smile as Jade squeezed her arm and leaned against her shoulder. General Hammond bowed his head to rub his eyes, letting out a heavy sigh.

"I hope you're right, Jack."


	6. Chapter 6

**You guys are incredibly sweet. Thank you so much for all of your encouraging words. I hope you enjoy this next chapter. **

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"It's my serve, Dad."

Sam still found herself cringing at the word, and she was surprised to see that Jack hardly seemed to notice. He tossed the ping pong ball up in the air and shook his head.

"That didn't count. I wasn't ready."

Jade laughed loudly, and the sound echoed around the walls of the gym, the cheerful noise sounding somewhat out of place to Sam. It had been Teal'c's idea to set up the ping pong table, and he and Sam sat on a low bench across the room, watching the two O'Neills as they batted the ball back and forth across the table.

"So, Jade," Sam began, as Jack served the ball and the girl crouched in position on the other side. "What happens when we contact Thor?" The ball thwacked across the table, and Jack dove after it, bumping his hip into the corner and wincing. Jade easily returned the ball, aiming for the other side of the table, and Jack swiped at the air and frowned.

"That's game," the girl said cheerfully, turning to face Sam as O'Neill went chasing after the ball across the gym floor. "We get him to come pick me up."

"Wait…what?" Jack picked the ball up from where it had rolled into the corner. "Pick _you_ up?"

Jade sighed and leaned on the edge of the table, crossing her arms over each other. "I know you're not going to want me to go, but the fact is, all the information Thor will need is up here." She tapped her temple with one finger. "It's non-negotiable. Your orders, Dad. I have to go, but you're welcome to come with me."

"Oh, gee, thanks," Jack said sarcastically, setting his paddle down on the table.

"We've got three weeks," Jade reminded him with a smile. "Maybe I can earn your trust by then."

Sam stood from her seat on the bench and picked up the Colonel's paddle, and he dropped the ball in her hand.

"I don't think trust is the issue here," she commented, serving the ball over the net and stepping backwards. Jade returned it with a flick of her wrist, and for a few moments, the room was quiet except for the loud click of the ball against the table and paddles. Jade finally missed her mark, the ball whizzing across the room and into the far wall.

"So, what is the issue?" she asked boldly, resting against the table. "You have a problem with me being your daughter?" Before Sam could respond, Jade's mouth twisted into a sideways grin and she added, "Or maybe you just have a problem with me being _his_ daughter."

Sam felt the color rise to her cheeks, and Jack looked up from where he leaned against the wall.

"Is there a difference?" he asked, looking confused.

Jade ignored him, looking at Sam intently as she crossed to the other side of the table.

"I _know_ you," she said in a low voice, pointing a finger at Sam's forehead. "I know what's going on up there."

Sam backed up in surprise and tried to think of something to say, but before she could open her mouth, Jade had already stepped away, crossing the room to look for the ball. O'Neill stepped forward and spoke quietly to her.

"What was _that_ all about?"

She shook her head and shifted her eyes to the girl kneeling down in the corner. She was afraid to admit to herself that she was jealous, that it was hard for her to see Colonel O'Neill warming up to Jade so quickly. She felt oddly left out, as if everyone could see that the girl was closer to her father where she came from. Sam wondered if she'd done something wrong, if it was somehow her fault. Worst of all, there was a horrible fear growing inside of her, the fear that any chance that she and Colonel O'Neill had of one day being together was going to be torn away from her by whatever changes were going to be made in the next few weeks. All of these feelings swirled around inside of her, and she felt strangely transparent in front of the small bright-eyed girl who seemed to stare right into her soul.

She glanced up to see Jack eying her curiously, and she tried to smile.

"I have no idea, sir."

Jade laid the ball on the table and looked apologetically up at Sam.

"Don't be mad. Sometimes I talk too much." She stretched out and wrapped her arms around Sam, and Sam couldn't help but reach her hand up to run it over Jade's hair. She looked over the girl at O'Neill, and they shared a meaningful look, his warm, brown eyes helping to calm her nerves.

"I'm not mad," she said quietly, pulling back to smile hesitantly at the girl in her arms. "I think I know what you meant."

Teal'c stood from his seat on the bench, looking slightly bored with the familial scene before him.

"If my presence is no longer required, I will return to my duties."

Jack looked back and forth between Sam and Jade for a few seconds, and then pushed away from the wall behind him, following Teal'c to the door.

"Me too. You got this, Carter?"

She opened her mouth to object, but Jade raised her bright, blue eyes to meet hers, and she changed her mind.

"Yes, sir. We'll be fine."

The door clicked shut, and she pressed her lips together in a tight smile.

"So…"

Jade sighed and plopped down on the bench against the wall.

"We knew this would be harder on you, you know."

"Oh?" Sam asked carefully, sitting down beside her.

Jade looked down at her hands as she spoke, her hair falling loosely over her shoulders and hiding her face from Sam's view.

"Yeah. I mean, I look so much like you, it's easy for Dad to…" She paused and tucked her hair behind her ears, looking over at Sam with an uneasy smile. "You know what I mean?"

Sam nodded slowly, understanding perfectly. Colonel O'Neill would have no problem loving this sweet girl, making a place for her…accepting her as his. It would be easy and natural, but somehow, Sam knew it wouldn't be quite the same for her. She sighed quietly as Jade continued.

"You warned me it would be this way…that you probably wouldn't like me very much at first."

"I don't dislike you, Jade, I just-"

Jade cut off her protest with a look and went on. "You said this was a hard time for you…that you and Dad had a rough couple of years, and you were…well, lonely."

Sam took a deep breath, trying to keep down the ache that was forming in her chest.

"I know myself pretty well, I guess."

Jade leaned over to lay her head on Sam's shoulder. After a few moments of silence, she sat up again and pulled her feet up onto the bench, settling comfortably.

"I want to tell you something." Sam raised her eyebrows curiously, and Jade gave her a bright smile as she spoke.

"One night, a few months before I came here, I couldn't sleep, and I decided to go for a walk." She leaned forward, her elbows propped up on her bent knees. "I went out the back door and walked around the side of the house, and there were you and Dad, sitting on the side of the porch, all wrapped up in each other's arms." Her eyes misted over, and she stared off into space as she spoke. "Dad was whispering stuff in your ear, and you kept giggling…it was so adorable." Sam blushed at the thought, but she found herself caught up in Jade's words, and she listened with her eyes on Jade's sad smile. "I didn't tell you, but I stayed there for a long time, just watching you sitting there, talking. He would hold your hand, and play with your hair, and run his fingers down the side of your face…" She sighed and refocused her eyes on Sam. "He loves you so much. And while I don't know what's going to happen in this timeline, I am _certain_ that isn't going to change. Okay?"

There was a long pause as Sam processed these words. Feeling more relaxed, she ran her eyes over Jade's features, her thoughts suddenly drifting to what she'd been like as a little girl. How she and O'Neill had raised her…where she went to school…

An unpleasant thought occurred to her, and she swallowed the lump in her throat before she spoke.

"I worked a lot, didn't I? When you were growing up?"

She could remember the long nights waiting for her father to come home, letting herself into the house after school, watching TV with Mark to pass the hours, dinner getting cold as she waited at the window to see his headlights shine onto the hedges. She felt tears stinging in her eyes, and she tried to keep them back as Jade stared at her.

"I never resented you for your work, Mom. Not ever." She reached over and took Sam's hand, her voice shaking as she continued. "It was so important, and I was proud of you for what you did. You were an _amazing_ mother, and I loved you so much…"

Jade covered her face with her hands as she began to sob, and Sam wrapped her arms around the girl tightly, leaning her head down to rest on Jade's shoulder.

"Shh," she whispered. Sam began to feel a strange sense of calm, and as she rocked her daughter gently, a wave of affection swept over her. It was something she'd never experienced before, and it occurred to her that maybe what she was feeling was a mother's love. A wide smile broke out across her face, and she pressed her lips to Jade's hair, her voice breaking as she whispered quietly in her ear.

"I'm still here."


	7. Chapter 7

**Happy Wednesday, shippers! Got your daily dose of Jack and Sam for you. Enjoy!**

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Jack O'Neill was in a bad mood. This was hardly an uncommon occurrence, but he had been even more irritable than usual since he'd left General Hammond's office earlier that morning, when the General had explained to him the President's thoughts on Jade.

The President had agreed that the girl's claims should be taken seriously, and that they should attempt to contact the Asgard to verify her story. He also felt that, while Colonel O'Neill and Major Carter had obviously done nothing to merit any kind of disciplinary action, SG-1's next mission should be postponed for the time being, at least until General Hammond was satisfied that they were still able to work together without any…issues.

Which, apparently, he wasn't.

Jack hated being idle, and it drove him crazy to sit around and wait. Even more infuriating was the thought that the General didn't trust him and Carter to be professionals, after everything they'd been through. Jack had been a bit too outspoken with Hammond about his opinion on being taken off duty, and the General had been less patient than usual. It seemed they were all a bit on edge.

The worst part to Jack was that the President was right. Something about Jade's presence had turned him upside down, and things between him and Carter were even more awkward than ever. Just when he thought they'd reached a level of understanding, some kind of emotional truce, everything was shot to hell with the knowledge that they were supposed to be man and wife one day. It wasn't that he minded the idea, but he couldn't predict how it would affect his judgment, or hers. If only things had been left alone, they could have continued on the way they were, one day finding their way and having Jade on their own…without being shoved headfirst into this mess. He found the entire situation incredibly unfair.

Carter and Jade hadn't emerged from the gym for hours, and Jack was oddly grateful. At least they were keeping each other occupied, and he could have his space. He found his way into the mess hall, sitting down alone with a cup of pudding and giving surly looks to anyone who dared to glance his way.

Things were going to get sticky, he knew. Even if the mission with the Asgard went exactly to plan, it wouldn't change things for him and Sam.

Even worse, maybe it would.

The combination of all his fear and anger and frustration was enough to make him want to punch something, and he stared hard at the door, hoping the next person who walked through would be willing to pick a fight.

Unfortunately for him, it was Jade who stepped through the door, arm-in-arm with Carter and laughing loudly, wiping her eyes as they made their way to Jack's table. He could see that they had both been crying, and he rose to leave, most definitely not in the mood for the cloud of female emotions that settled over the table.

"Oh, don't go, Dad," Jade pleaded with a smile. "We were coming to find you."

_Great._

He slowly slid back into his chair, groaning audibly.

"Is something wrong, sir?" Sam asked with concern. Jack gave her an irritated look.

"Yes, Carter, something is wrong. Something is _clearly_ wrong. _This_ is wrong." He pointed his finger angrily at the girl across the table, and Sam blinked in surprise.

"It's not her fault, sir. She didn't ask for-"

"No!" Jack cut her off sharply. "_We_ didn't ask for this. _I _didn't ask for this!" He knew he was being selfish, but he didn't care. He almost hoped that Sam would lash out, strike back and fuel his temper, but she seemed more concerned with the girl next to her, who leaned back in her seat and frowned.

"Calm down, Dad. You don't have to yell."

"Jack," he hissed at her. "My name is Jack! Enough with this 'Dad' crap. I am _not_ your father, got it?"

Jade jumped up, her chair almost toppling over as she stood. There was a familiar look of fury in her eyes, and Jack wondered if maybe he'd pushed the wrong button.

"Look, I'm sorry this is awkward for you, I really am, but as weird as it is for you, I guarantee it's ten times worse for me." She spat out the words, clenching her fists at her sides. "Do you think I _want_ to be here? My mother, my father, my friends…" Her voice broke, and her next words came out in something close to a sob. "I will never see them again, ever. I am stuck in this place, with these ghosts of my parents, who don't even love each other, much less me." She glared down at Jack, who was staring back at her and wishing that he'd kept his mouth shut. "Try to put yourself in my shoes, _Jack_." The word came out sounding bitter, and angry tears spilled down her cheeks. "And if you can't do that, then you're right." She shoved the chair back against the table and turned to leave. "You're not _my_ father."

Carter sat in silence as the girl stormed out of the room, raising her eyes to Jack cautiously. He sighed and felt the anger drain out of him.

"Bit dramatic, don't you think?"

She turned her head sideways at him. "Sir…"

"Yeah, yeah," he grumbled, standing and pushing his chair back under the table. "I'll go talk to her."

He stepped out into the corridor, wandering down it until he spotted Jade sitting down at the far end, her knees up to her chin and her back against the wall. He silently slid down to sit beside her, resting his elbows on his bent knees. Jade sniffed loudly, wiping her eyes, and she turned to Jack, looking ashamed.

"I'm so sorry. I don't know what got into me."

Laughing quietly, Jack draped an arm over her shoulders, and she leaned against him with a sigh.

"Don't worry about it," he said warmly. "I had it coming."

Jade shook her head from her place against his chest.

"I should have never said that about you not loving Mom. I know it's not true."

Jack flinched and cleared his throat awkwardly. "Listen, Jade-"

"It's okay," she interrupted. "I wouldn't say it to anybody but you." She sighed again and pulled away from him, wrapping her arms around her knees. Jack smiled at seeing her in the position he'd seen Carter in so many times, and he propped his head up with one hand, waiting for her to continue.

"My dad used to tell me stories," she said quietly, a hint of sorrow in her voice. "Stories about his glory days, saving the world with SG-1…Mom always had to fill in the parts where he was the hero. He didn't like to brag on himself, really." She leaned her head against the wall, her eyes getting a far off look as she continued. "He loved telling me about his adventures…the close shaves and near misses, all the different people they met, the planets they visited…I could tell he really loved being a part of SG-1." Jack felt oddly uneasy at the way she suddenly referred to her father as someone separate from him. He tried not to frown as Jade stopped and turned to look up at him, smiling slightly. "But he also told me how hard it was, seeing her day after day, having her there all the time, but never really having her in his life." Jack felt a sting at hearing the words. They hit too close to home, and she could tell.

"Sorry, I just wanted you to know that I get it."

Jack picked at the seam on his pants, not looking up as he spoke.

"Was she happy?"

"Mom?" Jade asked. Jack nodded, and the girl smiled brightly.

"Oh, yeah. Very. You know, when she would get time off from work, she and Dad would go on these trips, just the two of them. They'd go off-world and visit old friends. Teal'c or Daniel or…well, people you haven't met yet." She closed her eyes, returning to another time in her mind. "They'd sit at the kitchen table sometimes, sharing a beer and just talking. They never ran out of things to talk about, after all those years…"

Trailing off, Jade opened her eyes and looked up at Jack.

"They were both happy."

He nodded, but said nothing. After a few moments of silence, Jade stood and brushed off the seat of her pants. She reached a hand down to help Jack up off the floor, but he just laughed.

"I'm not that old yet."

Jade blushed and pulled her hand back, and he stood up easily on his own.

"Sorry, Jack," she mumbled.

As they walked slowly back to the mess hall, Jack draped his arm back around the girl's shoulders, and he glanced down to give her a sideways grin.

"You know what? I think I'd rather you call me 'Dad' after all."


	8. Chapter 8

**So, this chapter may be a little confusing, but I think it was getting necessary for me to explain some things. **

**Let me point out that this is by no means the only theory involving time travel, or even the correct one (or maybe it is...I don't know), but it is the theory used on the show, so that's what we're going with here.**

**Enjoy! And please review! (But please don't gripe at me about what an idiot I am. I'm not a scientists, guys.)**

**OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO**

The days went by slowly, and Jade O'Neill began worming her way, little by little, into the hearts of the SGC personnel. Of course, Jack and Sam were both won over after the first couple of days, and it wasn't an uncommon sight to see the three of them sitting together in the mess hall, talking and laughing as if they'd been together for years.

General Hammond kept Jade restricted to her quarters, only allowed out with an escort, so when her parents were busy, Teal'c or Daniel would come down to visit with her. Teal'c took her to the gym and began teaching her a few basic lok'nel moves, which she picked up quickly. He was so pleased with her eagerness to learn that he was moved to tell Jack, "In time, your daughter will become a skilled warrior, O'Neill."

Jack replied that he would prefer they not send her off into combat just yet, but Carter seemed delighted, remarking that she had always intended to make sure, if she had a daughter, that the girl was schooled in martial arts.

Daniel occasionally brought Jade down to his office, and she eagerly pored through the books on his shelf. He sometimes had to set his work aside, not able to resist the opportunity to explain his research to her as she thumbed through notebooks and sketches.

"She definitely didn't get that from me," Jack whispered to Sam one evening. They had peeked into Daniel's office to see him and Jade sitting cross-legged on the floor, Daniel gesturing wildly as the girl ran her fingers over a large map on the floor, both of them caught up in eager conversation and surrounded by stacks of books on South American mythology.

Jade saw Janet often also, as General Hammond had ordered frequent checkups. By the end of the first week, she began coming in "just for fun", calling herself Janet's intern and trying to find little ways to help out around the infirmary. Jack overheard one airman in the locker room bragging to his team member that he'd had his sprained wrist wrapped by "O'Neill's little girl".

Of course, Jade was far from perfect. Despite their common interests, she frequently lost her temper with Daniel, their arguments usually ending with Jade storming out of his office and demanding to be escorted back to her room. Daniel learned to be patient with her, since she always appeared in his doorway a short time later, tearfully apologizing for her behavior and, occasionally, her harsh language.

The General grew frustrated for a different reason, as the girl tended to sneak away from her escort and find herself in places that she was not allowed. He once found her in the control room, trying to convince Walter to let her announce the next incoming wormhole, and she disappeared several times from Jack's side to be found later in the mess hall, usually with a large slice of cake.

In spite of her faults, it was amazing the way the entire base seemed to fall in love with the girl. She made friends with the SG teams, the technicians, the nurses…she was even seen occasionally chatting with the janitor. Jack joked with Daniel that it was her impressive parentage that made her so popular, but the truth was, despite Sam's assurances that the girl was very much like her father, Jack didn't see very much of himself in Jade. She certainly had some of his looks, and she often used his expressions and mannerisms, but her intelligence, her eagerness to try new things, her friendliness and high spirits…these were all things that he attributed to her mother.

Carter had been hesitant about the girl at first, but the more time they spent together, the more Jack noticed her practically glowing whenever the two were together. He almost felt a little jealous. Up until now, he had inwardly prided himself in being the only one who could get her to smile that way. Still, it made him happy to see her happy, and he was usually content to sit and watch the two of them, almost able to pretend they were a real family.

One evening, before he went home for the day, Jack wandered into Sam's lab to find her typing hurriedly on her computer, her eyebrows furrowed in concentration. She saw him step into the room and smiled, finishing her notes and pushing her chair away from the desk.

"Hi, sir. I was just finishing up my report."

Jack nodded and fiddled with one of the strange devices on her desk, thinking a moment before he spoke.

"I have a question, Carter."

Sam settled forward in her chair and folded her hands beneath her chin.

"Okay."

Annoyed with the distance between them, Jack walked around to the other side of the desk and leaned up to sit on its edge.

"Well, I've been thinking." Sam raised her eyebrows at him, and Jack gave her a blank look.

"It does happen occasionally."

She just laughed and gestured for him to go on.

"I've been thinking about this whole…future thing. I mean, I won't pretend I understand it all, but if we _do_ complete this mission, and we fix things up all nice and tidy for the future, then what happens to Jade?"

Sam looked surprised by his question. "What do you mean?"

Jack shrugged his shoulders. "I mean, what happens to her? If we've screwed things up as badly as you guys say we have, then she's not ever going to be born, right?"

"Well, sir," Sam replied with a thoughtful expression. "If you combine what we know of time travel with the laws of quantum physics, we get a better understanding of the possible results of-"

"Carter…"

She paused and gave a sheepish smile. "Sorry, sir. What, exactly, do you want to know?"

"Will she disappear or something if we change her future?" He blinked and shook his head. "Her past, I mean. Our future. Whatever. You know what I mean."

Sam grinned up at him. "No, sir, she won't disappear." Looking as if she'd had an idea, she reached across the desk and picked up a sheet of paper, slipping a pencil out of her pocket and gesturing for him to watch.

"Look. I'll show you."

Jack hopped off of the desk and leaned over her shoulder, trying to focus on something other than the smell of her hair and the nice view from his position above her.

She drew a line across the sheet of paper, with two stick figures together on the left, and one by itself on the right. "Here's our timeline. This is you and me, and that's Jade."

Jack took the pencil out of her hand and sketched a baseball cap on his figure, smiling proudly as Sam snatched the pencil back and continued, trying unsuccessfully to hold back a smile.

"Okay, so she comes back to our time…" Sam drew an arrow to indicate Jade's travelling through time. "…and ends up with us. Now, when the timeline is _altered_…" She drew a branch off of the first line, starting a separate, but connected, timeline beneath. "…then it, in effect, creates a parallel universe."

Jack squinted at the paper in front of him. "Okay," he said slowly.

"Okay," Carter repeated. "The point is, she was sent here." She tapped her pencil on the alternate timeline she'd drawn. "So the future she came from…" She tapped the first line. "…is no longer _our_ future. Thus, it has no bearing on what happens in our universe, and we can't have any effect on it. Jade was still born there, so she'll still exist _here_."

She smiled brightly up at Jack, clearly pleased with her own explanation. Jack frowned and tried to concentrate.

"So…not going to disappear."

"No, sir." Sam replied, laughing quietly.

A sudden thought occurred to him, and Jack looked back down at the paper on the table.

"She can't go back."

Carter shook her head slowly.

"No, sir. She can't. Even if we had a way to send her to the future, it would no longer be her future."

This was a distressing thought to Jack, for more than one reason.

"We're not going to have her in _our_ future, are we? As a baby, I mean."

He expected Sam to blush again, to give one of her nervous smiles and stare down at her feet. It was a bit surprising to him when she looked up and met his eyes, a sadness evident in hers.

"No, sir. We can't. At least, the odds make it nearly impossible."

It took a minute for Jack to understand. Carter glanced back down to the paper on her desk, and he leaned back, trying to think of a way to cheer her up.

"Oh, right," he finally replied. "Because we'd have to…you know…at the exact same time that the other us…well, you know…"

His awkwardness was enough to break the intensity of the moment, and Sam laughed, her blush returning. Jack couldn't help himself. He rubbed his hand over the back of his neck and gave her a grin.

"Of course, if she told us her birthday, we could just…you know…calculate it up and try as many times as-"

"Colonel…"

Sam gave him a warning glance, but Jack was pleased to see that there was amusement in her eyes. He decided not to push her any further, and he stepped away, running his fingers over the side of her desk as he headed towards the door.

"Either way, sir," Sam added, gathering her things to follow him out of the room. "We've got her now, and that's good enough for me."


	9. Chapter 9

**Well, oops. I didn't mean to make the last chapter so gloomy for you guys. Just writing as I go here. As always, thank you so so much for your reviews. Please keep them coming, and have a great weekend! :D  
**

**OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO**

When the first two weeks were up, General Hammond finally gave Colonel O'Neill permission to take Jade off the base. The General couldn't escape the enormous hug he received from the young girl as soon as the words were out, and she clapped her hands enthusiastically as she hopped up on the examining table in the infirmary.

"Where will we go, Dad?" she asked, as Janet pried open her eye and held up her small penlight. "Can you take me fishing? I want to go fishing so bad…"

Sam laughed at this, leaning over the table on her elbows.

"I'm sure your dad would _love_ to take you fishing."

Jack shook his head with a smile. "When we get back from this mission, we'll all go. Teal'c loves to fish, don't you Teal'c?"

Teal'c looked less than thrilled at the idea, but after sharing a look with Sam, he simply said, "Indeed."

Janet popped a thermometer into Jade's mouth, and the girl wrinkled her nose as she clamped her teeth down on it. Daniel looked up from his seat across the room and smiled.

"Why don't you just take her to your place, Jack? You guys can…do whatever it is that you do."

The Colonel shrugged his shoulders, ignoring the teasing tone in Daniel's voice. "Why don't you guys all on come over? We'll throw a few steaks on the grill…Jade can whip all our butts at chess…"

Sam couldn't help but grin. An evening with Jade and the team was just what she needed before they headed off on this mystery adventure, and she felt excited at the prospect of getting some time with Jack off-base. Things had been extremely confusing between them during the past couple of weeks, even more so than usual. Any time they spent with Jade felt completely natural, as if they belonged together as a family, but whenever she was gone, things felt backwards somehow. Knowing that they would one day be involved was making it very difficult to keep things professional, and she had already noticed a difference in the way he treated her. There were more of his long looks and secret smiles than usual, and he always seemed to find little ways to touch her..his hand on her lower back as they walked through a doorway, his fingers brushing against her arm when he told a story, sitting just a little too close to her in the mess hall. Most of the time, he acted like he didn't even notice, as if it was just an accident, but Sam knew better.

"Is there still no word from Thor?" Daniel asked, interrupting her thoughts.

General Hammond shook his head and crossed his arms over his chest.

"Today was SG-2's fifth trip to K'tau, trying to make contact with the Asgard, but we've yet to have any success."

"Well, sir," Sam pointed out. "Jade did say we'd have a two-hour window. Maybe they're unable to receive communications until that time."

Jade nodded her head and mumbled something, but Janet gave her a warning look and straightened the thermometer sticking out of her mouth.

Hammond smiled at her before turning back to Sam. "We're counting on it, Major. Of course, we have to decide what, exactly, we're going to tell them."

Jack raised his eyebrows. "I _thought_ we were going to tell them the truth, sir."

"We will, Colonel," the General assured him. "However, Miss O'Neill believes that we should limit the amount of information we share about what she knows of the future, and I tend to agree. She wishes to speak personally to Thor, when he arrives." He frowned and looked over at the girl sitting up on the table next to him.

"Which brings up another issue. This young lady seems to think that the Asgard should just…drop by and pick her up, take her with him to this battle they're fighting. I don't know about the rest of you, but I don't think that's a very good idea."

Jade tried again to speak, and was again hushed by Janet. She crossed her arms and sulked quietly as the others exchanged glances.

They had all been trying to talk sense into Jade for days, but the girl refused to budge. She said there was no room for argument…that she had no choice. Colonel O'Neill was clearly distraught at the idea of sending the girl off into battle, especially one they knew so little about, and Sam found herself equally concerned.

"I think it's a pretty crappy idea myself, General," Jack finally said. "But she does seem pretty set on it. Obviously, if we go through with this, I think SG-1 should go with her."

Hammond nodded his head. "Agreed." He turned back to face Jade and tried to reason with her. "Miss O'Neill, there's a possibility that this mission could be extremely dangerous. Are you sure there no way that you can simply give Major Carter whatever information is needed?"

Jade looked over at Sam, who shook her head and sighed. "I've tried, sir. She says that we…that is, our future selves, ordered her not to reveal that information. It's likely she's been instructed in the use of Asgard technology, and that she can't give us the information we'd need to help Thor without having to explain that technology to us, which of course, would be knowledge we aren't supposed to have…yet."

"You know," Jack said, spinning a pen around in a circle on the counter beside him. "I'm thinking we've already made a pretty jumbled mess out of this timeline anyway. I say we should just screw the whole thing…use whatever we need to get the Asgard out of their mess, maybe get a few World Series results out of the kid…happy endings for everybody."

He winked at Jade, who giggled behind her thermometer.

Ignoring the Colonel, General Hammond turned back to Sam and sighed. "I don't like this, but I don't see that we have much of a choice. The President feels that if the fate of our planet really is in this girl's hands, it's our job to see to it that she's given the opportunity to complete her mission."

Janet finally took the thermometer out of Jade's mouth, and the girl ran her tongue over her teeth.

"Thanks, General. You won't be sorry. I've got it under control."

Hammond looked less than convinced, but he gave the girl a smile before he dismissed himself and left the room, leaving the others to make plans for Jade's first trip off the base.

"Can we have pizza?" she asked eagerly. "Pretty, pretty please, Dad? I love pizza…"

"I'll bring the beer," Sam promised, giving a scolding look to Jade when the girl's eyes brightened. "Not for you."

Janet finished her exam, and Jade followed O'Neill out the door, hanging onto his arm with one hand and pulling Teal'c behind her with the other. Daniel chuckled quietly and trailed behind, but Sam stayed with Janet, watching her friend as she jotted down a few notes on her clipboard.

"So," Janet asked as she slipped the clipboard back in its place. "How are you, Sam?" She slid her hands into the pockets of her lab coat, her warm, dark eyes on her friend in front of her.

"I'm okay," Sam said with a sigh. "I'm starting to get used to it, I think."

Janet shook her head. "I can't imagine how confusing it must be."

"For us, or for her?" Sam asked. "Poor kid. I think sometimes she completely forgets that Colonel O'Neill isn't the father she grew up with."

Janet simply nodded, and Sam thumbed distractedly through a stack of papers on the desk next to her, speaking her next words carefully.

"She knows things."

"About the future?" Janet asked quietly.

"Yeah. Mistakes that are going to be made, people who will be hurt…or killed." She looked up at her friend with a sad smile. "Sometimes when she looks at…certain people…" She paused and let out a small sigh. "I don't know. I just get the feeling she knows something's coming."

Janet stood silently for a few moments, finally giving Sam a sympathetic smile and remarking, "That must be an incredible burden for her."

Sam said nothing. She couldn't even imagine being cursed with knowing the fate of people she cared about and not being able warn them. Janet crossed her arms in front of her, looking thoughtful.

"You know, I had a close friend who I went to medical school with who was stationed in the Middle East during the Gulf War. His name was James." She stared off into space as she brought up the memory. "One night there was an ambush from enemy troops, and James caught a bullet in the chest as he was dragging one of the injured soldiers back to camp." She paused a moment, sadness evident in her eyes. Finally, she turned to Sam and smiled. "James didn't make it, but that soldier he was dragging? He survived, and he was later involved in an operation where he saved the lives of five members of his team."

Sam reached down and squeezed Janet's hand. "Your friend was a hero then."

"But what if I had known?" Janet asked quietly. "If I had known that he was going to be killed, would I have tried to warn him? And if I had, what would have happened to those five soldiers?"

Sam shook her head slowly, Janet's words sinking in. "I know," she sighed. "Poor Jade. No wonder she doesn't want to talk about where she came from. She must be terrified of causing more damage, of ruining someone's life." The two women stood in silence, until Sam shook off her thoughts and gave Janet a warm smile.

"You want to come with me to Colonel O'Neill's tonight? I'm sure it's going to be…interesting."

Janet laughed a little, pulling her clipboard back out and shaking her head. "No thanks. I've got a lot of work to catch up on. Maybe another time."

Sam stopped in the doorway on her way out, looking back and Janet with a small smile. It hadn't been lost to her that Jade had admitted to not knowing Janet personally. Her heart ached at the thought of losing her dear friend, and she hoped that she was wrong. After all, they had already tossed a wrench into the normal timeline. Things might be different this time around. She nodded to herself as she turned the corner and headed back to her lab, smiling at the thought.

_Things might be better._


	10. Chapter 10

**Oops. I know I'm in trouble for not posting this weekend. Sorry! There was family down and I wasn't home all weekend. I'll try to make up for leaving you hanging by posting a very fluffy chapter today. Let me know what you think! :)**

**OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO**

"Wait. Are you telling me that, in the future, cars drive themselves?"

Daniel leaned forward from his seat on the edge of Colonel O'Neill's deck railing, his friends smiling at the excited expression on his face. Jade laughed and shook her head, giving him a playful shove with her foot. She was perched on the other side of the corner, above where her parents and Teal'c sat around the patio table.

"Park, Daniel," she corrected him. "They can park themselves."

"Well, that's disappointing," Jack remarked, peeling at the label on his beer. "By the time I've got a kid grown, they ought to be flying."

He snuck a glance at Sam, but she just grinned down at the table, Teal'c smiling politely at Jade from where he sat across from the Colonel.

"I believe that feature would be extremely helpful," he commented, and Jade gave him a polite nod, raising her plastic cup of soda in his direction.

"I actually have only one question," Jack said with mock seriousness, leaning back in his seat and propping his feet up on the chair in front of him. Jade interrupted him before he could open his mouth.

"Yes, Dad, The Simpsons is still running."

"Yes!" The Colonel grinned playfully as he emptied the last of his beer, and Sam watched him set the bottle next to the several already lined up. She counted up how many of the empty bottles were hers, a little embarrassed at the number she came up with, and she glanced around O'Neill's patio, surprised to see that the sun was already starting to sink in the sky.

The group of friends had spent the evening in casual conversation, lounging around on the Colonel's deck as they talked and laughed together. Jade seemed much more relaxed, now that they were away from cameras and the constant presence of security. She watched the sun setting for a while in silence, her feet swinging beneath her.

It was really Jack who wasn't quite acting himself. He joked and smiled like normal, but Sam could see that his mind was somewhere else. She was trying not to notice how often his eyes seemed to glance her direction, running over her hair and face, or the blouse she had chosen that suddenly felt far too low-cut. She declined another beer, starting to worry that maybe she shouldn't have come after all.

"Hey, Teal'c brought his favorite movie," Daniel said cheerfully, elbowing Jade as he reached in the bag at his feet. When he handed her the tape, she turned it over in her hands curiously.

"What's this?"

Daniel's forehead wrinkled in confusion. "It's a movie."

Sam shared a surprised look with Jack before asking, "No movies in the future?"

"Oh!" Jade said, recognition flashing across her features. "VHS. Got it." She grinned as she handed the tape back to Daniel. "We don't use those anymore."

Daniel raised his eyebrows, and then he shrugged, bouncing the video in his hands. "Well, have you seen it?"

"Star Wars?" Jade asked, laughing. "Are you kidding? Teal'c makes us watch it all the time. Mom always says that little Danny sounds just like Chewbacca when he-"

She stopped suddenly, holding one hand over her mouth. She met the Colonel's eyes, and he just blinked at her as Sam looked back and forth between the two of them.

"Uh...who's little Danny?" Jack asked slowly.

Daniel looked extremely amused. "Little Danny...as in little brother?"

Jade was still holding her hand over her mouth, but everyone could see the answer in her eyes, and Daniel began to laugh out loud.

"Well, what do you know, Jack? You're going to name your kid after me!"

Jack frowned and shrugged his shoulders. "All Carter's idea, I'm sure."

Jade seemed extremely distressed at her mistake, and she slid down off of the railing to sit next to Teal'c, burying her face in his arm. He laid a hand on the top of her head and leaned down to speak quietly to her.

"I don't believe this knowledge will make any difference in the outcome of our futures, Jade O'Neill."

Daniel hopped down and joined them, trying to stop laughing and assure Jade that everything was fine. Sam noticed Jack giving her an odd look, and he stood slowly, watching the others occupied with cheering up the embarrassed girl mumbling into Teal'c's arm. Picking up the empty bottles on the table, he gestured for Sam to grab the rest and follow her inside. She reluctantly obeyed, silently willing Daniel to follow them. She was feeling a little too warm and comfortable to trust herself to be alone with Jack O'Neill. Unfortunately, Daniel seemed oblivious to her telepathic requests, and she sighed as she closed the door behind her, following the Colonel into the kitchen.

"So now we've got two," Jack said playfully, dropping the bottles with a clatter into the recycling bin. Sam did the same, and Jack leaned up against the counter beside her. "Too bad she couldn't have brought the other one back."

Sam was suddenly having a hard time concentrating. She wished she could blame the beer for the funny feeling swimming around inside of her, but she had a hard time believing it was the alcohol.

Jack was standing extremely close to her, and she couldn't get over how strange it was to be alone with him off-duty. It was completely unfamiliar territory, and it didn't help that Jade's presence had introduced all kinds of thoughts into her head that she knew she shouldn't have. She could feel her hands starting to tremble slightly, and she couldn't seem to keep her eyes off of him.

"Sir," she began hesitantly. "How long do you think before we..." She paused and struggled to make sense of all the thoughts in her head. "I mean, it could be years."

Jack didn't move, but his eyes darted from her eyes to her lips as he spoke in a low voice.

"God, I hope not."

The warmth inside of her was growing, and Sam found herself leaning up on the counter next to him. She eyed the kitchen doorway, her nervousness increasing as her arm brushed against his.

"Me too," she said quietly.

Jack was looking at her a little funny, but he didn't back away. Instead, he very carefully shifted his position to stand directly in front of her, his face only inches from hers. Sam felt her breath catch, her mind and body at war with each other.

_Bad idea, Sam. Get out of here!_

Jack lifted one hand very slowly, watching her with a curious expression as he gently touched one finger to the side of her face and let it run slowly down her cheek. Sam closed her eyes and tried to remember to breathe, his touch leaving a trail of electricity across her skin. As soon as she felt his hand start to pull back, Sam turned her head just enough to let his thumb brush her lips. She raised her eyes to meet his as she parted her lips slightly, pressing them to his skin.

"Carter..."

There was a slow burning in his eyes, but his voice sounded slightly hesitant, and Sam started to move away very carefully. Jack reached out his other hand to grip her wrist, holding her still.

"Don't."

There was an incredible amount of fluttering going on in her stomach, and Sam swallowed nervously as Jack spread his fingers over the side of her face and down her neck, his thumb slowly running over her lips. He gave her a questioning look, and her heart pounded in her chest as she took his thumb between her lips, letting her tongue run over the tip as she watched his expression change. She had never seen such an intensity in his eyes, and it was strangely hypnotic, keeping her still as his fingers slowly explored the skin beneath her collar. He pulled his thumb from her lips and slid it down her chin, making his way down her throat. Sam leaned her head back and closed her eyes, wondering if he could feel her heart racing beneath his fingers.

"Sir," she whispered, her voice sounding strange in her ears. "Don't you think-"

"Shh," he said with a shake of his head, taking one step closer. Sam felt her head spinning, and her breathing was almost coming out in gasps. There were a million alarms going off in her head, but somehow she just couldn't make herself move away. She wanted his lips on hers, to feel his arms hold her tight and his body pressed against her. For that instant, there was nothing else, and she waited patiently as Jack slowly began to close the distance between them.

"Hey Dad!"

Sam jumped back so hard, she slammed into the cabinet behind her, yelling out and holding the back of her head. Jade peeked her head into the kitchen, peering suspiciously at them both.

"What are you guys doing in here?"

"Nothing," Jack said innocently, spinning Sam around to make sure she wasn't bleeding. When he was satisfied that she wasn't hurt, he finally released her wrist, and Sam covered it with her other hand, as if she was somehow branded by his touch.

Jade didn't look convinced, and she gestured for them to follow her back outside.

"Well, how about you come do nothing outside with us?"

Jack chuckled quietly, pulling a bag of chips out of the cabinet before he guided Sam out of the kitchen, his hand on her lower back. She numbly allowed herself to be pushed out of the kitchen, her heart still pounding in her ears as Jade watched them with her arms crossed.

"Whatever you say, boss," Jack laughed.


	11. Chapter 11

**Okay, one more short, shippy chapter, then back to the story.  
**

**Please review!**

**OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO**

The sun sank down in the sky, painting bright orange flames across the clouds as it disappeared beneath the horizon. Jack watched the sunset with new eyes, his heart full of a hope that he hadn't thought he would ever feel again.

_She loves me._

He had seen it so clearly in her eyes, and it was something he now realized he wasn't fully prepared for. He had always thought of Carter as completely off-limits, but somehow, knowing she was destined to be his made her seem within reach for the first time.

Once he and Sam returned to the patio with Jade, the rest of the evening went by quickly, everyone too caught up with enjoying each other's company to notice how fast the time went by. Teal'c's movie was forgotten, and the full moon above them lit up the deck brightly, so they never bothered coming inside, munching on pizza and taking turns telling Jade stories of past missions.

As the others chatted on the patio, Jack wandered off and ducked back inside the house, wanting to be alone with his thoughts. He plopped down on the couch, his friends in view through the large windows across the room. Sam was leaning up against the railing, one arm around Jade's waist as the two smiled at each other.

Jack sat back against the cushions and tried to think clearly. Maybe there was something he had overlooked. Truth be told, it was never something he'd thought very seriously about, but surely there had to be some way for the two of them to be together. They obviously found a way at some point in the future. Maybe he could just figure it out a little earlier this time around.

The patio door swung open and Teal'c stepped into the living room, giving Jack a concerned look as he closed the door behind him and slowly crossed the room.

"Is there something wrong, O'Neill?"

Jack shook his head, but Teal'c seemed to see that something was up, and he stepped up to the couch, taking a seat next to his friend and folding his hands together in his lap. After a few moments of silence, he turned and spoke quietly.

"Major Carter believes that this timeline has been irreversibly damaged by your daughter's presence."

Jack frowned and rubbed his eyes. He was too confused to think.

"I don't know, T. Maybe it has, but I don't think she had a choice."

Teal'c waited until Jack raised his head, looking him in the eye as he continued. "It is possible, O'Neill, that these changes will create a more positive outcome for your future."

Jack ran his thumb over the seam on the arm of the couch and smiled. "I've been thinking that too. You know…" He turned to look back through the windows at the three friends chatting on the patio. Sam glanced his way and smiled slightly before returning her attention to Daniel and his emphatic gestures.

"I was ready to give up."

Teal'c raised an eyebrow, but said nothing.

"Seriously," Jack continued. "I thought I had no chance. I was just sure she'd find some nice guy, get married, have a couple of kids…I mean, what would she want with me?"

He meant it to be a rhetorical question, but Teal'c spoke up, leaning back comfortably against the couch cushions.

"I believe Major Carter has strong feelings for you, O'Neill. You have many fine qualities which she finds desirable."

Pleased at the words, Jack flashed his friend a smile. "Why, thank you, Teal'c." He glanced back outside and watched Jade as she sat up on the railing, her feet swinging below her as she threw her head back and laughed.

"Do you ever wish you could just go back home?" Jack asked quietly. "Get back with Drey'auc and your kid and leave the SGC behind?"

Teal'c smiled sadly. "I wish this often, O'Neill. Are you contemplating leaving SG-1?"

"No, no," he objected firmly. "From what Jade tells me, we still have a lot of work to do." He leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. "It's just…I don't want Carter to have to wait around, you know?"

His friend looked amused. "Perhaps it is you who does not wish to wait."

"Yes…well, there's that."

The two friends were silent for a few minutes, watching the others in lively conversation outside. Sam sat down on one of the benches at the table, looking up at Jade with a wide smile on her face. The two of them looked so natural together, and Jack let out a loud sigh of frustration.

"This really sucks."

Teal'c leaned forward and clamped a hand on Jack's shoulder.

"My friend, if there is one thing that I have learned about Major Carter and yourself, it is that the two of you have a remarkable tendency to find solutions to problems that seem to have none." He shifted his eyes to the group outside and smiled. "I have no doubt that this situation will prove to be no different."

Jack felt strangely comforted by these words, and he nodded slowly.

"You're right, T. Carter can figure out anything."

He stretched out his fingers, remembering the feel of her soft skin beneath them and the longing he had seen in her eyes. He could hear Jade's cheerful laugh from outside, and somehow it was soothing to him. This girl had shown up and made a mess of everything…maybe even changed the fate of the entire galaxy. Yet, somehow, Jack got the feeling that almost every change that had been made was only for the better. Maybe the Asgard were supposed to die out. Maybe he and Carter were supposed to hem and haw around for another few years before there could be anything between them. Maybe changing these things was destroying the timeline as it was supposed to be.

Jack closed his eyes and relived his brief moment with Sam in his mind, smiling to himself as he remembered the warmth of her lips against his skin and the natural way she leaned into his touch, her eyes wide and full of emotion as she watched him lean in close…

_Oh, screw the timeline._


	12. Chapter 12

**It's another happy Wednesday, shippers! We're just going to jump right back into the story. Buckle up! **

**Thanks so much for all your reviews! :)**

**OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO**

"Incoming traveler!"

The words echoed around the corridor as Sam jogged up the stairs and into the control room, taking the steps two at a time as the lights flashed around her. Jade followed close behind, and the two of them made it just in time to watch with Daniel and General Hammond as Teal'c and Colonel O'Neill stepped through the stargate and onto the metal ramp below. She was relieved to see them, as she had been starting to worry that the two-hour window would pass them by and all of Jade's plans would fall through.

The final week of waiting had flown by, everyone settling back into routine on the base after their evening at Colonel O'Neill's. Sam had awakened the morning after with a slight headache and an embarrassing realization of how much she had let her guard down with Jack, but for some strange reason, things between them seemed less tense than they had ever been. The Colonel spent a considerable amount of time in her lab that week, and Sam didn't even mind. It was if they had somehow reached a mutual understanding, though of what she wasn't entirely certain. She was anxious to see how they handled their first mission together since Jade's appearance.

O'Neill waved his team down to join him as the gate closed behind him and Teal'c, and Sam spun around to hurry into the gateroom.

"Colonel," Hammond said as they approached the ramp. "Were you able to contact Thor?"

"Yes, General," Jack said with a grin, making his way down to meet them. "And even more amazing, I think he actually bought the whole…warning from the future thing." He stopped at the bottom of the ramp and glanced at his watch. "He's going to swing by and pick us up, so if we're going to do this, I suggest everybody gear up."

Sam raised her eyebrows, sharing a look with Daniel and waiting for the Colonel to notice that they'd already donned their uniforms. He blinked at the two of them for a moment, and then glanced over at Jade with a frown. She grinned broadly and spun around in a circle.

"What do you think? I get one too!"

Jack grabbed the side of her vest and turned her sideways.

"What, no M16?" he asked sarcastically.

"Colonel," Hammond interjected. "How soon before Thor arrives?"

Jack shrugged his shoulders. "You got me, sir. Their ships go pretty darn fast. I wouldn't be surprised if-"

There was a bright flash of light, and Sam suddenly found herself on a low platform in front of a large window, the earth in clear view below them. She glanced over at the girl beside her, smiling at her wide eyed expression.

"Whoa," Jade whispered. "That was something."

Jack stepped past them and hopped off the platform, and the rest of the team followed him as he headed down the corridor, eying his watch again nervously.

"If you're right, Jade, then Thor's going to be getting that distress signal in less than ten minutes. We cut this thing pretty close, guys."

Jade frowned as she walked swiftly, struggling to keep up. "Well, I told you two hours. It's not my fault you guys took so long getting ahold of him."

Jack took a quick turn and stepped into a large, open room, the rest of the team following as he hurried up to Thor and gave him a bright smile.

"Thor! Buddy! Good to see you. Well, you know…in the flesh…"

Thor blinked his large, black eyes and bowed his head slightly.

"It is a pleasure to see you again, O'Neill. Major Carter, Daniel Jackson, Teal'c…"

He stopped when he reached Jade, and she waved nervously, shifting her eyes over to Jack.

"Thor," Jack said cheerily. "This is Jade. Jade…Thor."

The Asgardian eyed the small girl curiously, and she gave him a timid smile.

"Hello."

He bowed his head again in greeting.

"This is your offspring, O'Neill?"

Jack just shrugged his shoulders. "Apparently."

Sam felt a twinge of irritation, and she couldn't help adding, "Well, she's not just his."

She started to give Jack a stern look, but his playful expression made her grin instead, and she met his eyes over Thor's small, grey body, seeing clearly how proud he was to share Jade with her.

Daniel startled Sam by clearing his throat loudly behind her.

"Distress call?"

Jade stepped up, looking determinedly down at Thor as she spoke.

"Commander Thor, may I please speak with you in private? We have a lot to talk about."

The Colonel didn't look pleased with this idea, but as he opened his mouth to object, Jade held up her hand to stop him.

"It'll be fine, Dad."

He didn't look convinced, continuing to frown as he laid out his gear the large table in the room.

"I don't like surprises, Jade."

The girl cringed at this, almost seeming pained by the words. Jack paused to blink curiously at her, but she shook off the feeling and smiled.

"I know," she replied, following Thor as he gestured for her to accompany him. "Don't worry. Everything's going to be okay."

The two of them slipped out of the room, and Jack crossed his arms in irritation.

"You guys remember the good old days, when _I_ used to be in charge?"

Daniel just laughed to himself, squinting behind his glasses as he surveyed the room.

"Yeah, well, welcome to fatherhood."

"Oh, how would you know?" Jack snapped.

Sam stepped between them, sensing that this conversation couldn't end well, and she pointed to one of the panels lit up behind the Colonel.

"Look at this, sir." She slipped off her pack and laid it next to his gear on the table, crossing the room to stand in front of the blinking lights and symbols. "It looks like some of the results of the Asgard's encounters with the Replicators."

Jack slid his hands into his pockets as he looked blankly at the screen.

"Well, what's it say?"

Sam shrugged and looked over at Daniel, who stared thoughtfully at the symbols.

"I don't think it's going very well."

The team wandered around for a while, trying to get a clue as to what they could expect when they reached their destination. It was a few minutes before Teal'c spoke up from across the room.

"O'Neill." They turned to see him in front of another panel, and he gestured for them to come closer. "It appears we are returning to the Ida galaxy." He looked up and raised an eyebrow. "And at considerable speed, I might add."

Jack grinned and looked proudly around the room. "One day, we're going to have ships like this too. Cool, huh?"

Daniel furrowed his eyebrows and pushed up his glasses. "Yes, because the entire race of the Asgard will be _dead_."

Jack blinked and raised up a finger. "Ah. Good point."

A soft red light suddenly began blinking above them, and there was an odd sound that began to echo around the room. Jack instinctively reached for his weapon, eying the doorway Thor and Jade had disappeared out of.

"Carter?"

"Probably the distress call, sir," she guessed, and she lifted her pack from the table. "Judging from what we've seen of the speed of these ships in the past, it won't take any time at all to reach the planet that Jade told us about."

Daniel took a deep breath and stretched his arms, and Teal'c adjusted the strap on the firearm draped over his shoulder. There was a sound of hurried footsteps from the corridor, and Jade appeared in the doorway, her eyes wide as she waved her arm in the air. There was a strange object strapped to her wrist, and she held an Asgard computer crystal in her hand.

"Come on!" she panted. "That's the distress signal! Thor's already heading to the planet!"

Jack grabbed his gear and followed Jade out of the room, the others close on his heels.

_Here we go…_


	13. Chapter 13

**Here we go... **

**OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO**

Thor's ship came out of hyperspace just as Sam and the rest of SG-1 entered the ship's bridge, and they kept their eyes on the large screen in the room as the ship entered orbit around a small blue planet. There was another Asgard vessel already present, at it appeared to be locked in battle with three smaller Replicator ships. Sam felt a bit helpless, just watching as Thor communicated with the other ship and Jade's fingers ran over one of the control panels in the corner of the room. Everything seemed to be happening too fast, and she struggled to pay attention as Jade went over their next move hurriedly.

"Thor is going to be assisting with the evacuation of his people below. I've got to get down to the control room on the surface before the Replicators can corrupt the data."

Thor stepped up to one of the control panels, moving the round stones across its surface, and the wall in front of them came to life with bright lights and symbols.

"The Replicators have overtaken the research facility. I'm afraid we are too late."

Jade stepped up to the wall and shook her head, pointing up at the screen.

"No, it's okay. This isn't unexpected. See this corridor here? That's where I need you to send me." She turned to leave the room, but Jack reached out and grabbed her wrist.

"What, are you kidding? That place is crawling with bugs! There's no way-"

"Sir," Sam interrupted, looking over the screen. "I think I see what she's getting at. The Replicators will be attracted to the most advanced technology first, which means this corridor…" She reached up and ran her finger over the map displayed on the wall. "…should be free of them for now."

"For now?" Jack raised up his eyebrows, tightening his grip on Jade's arm as she struggled to get free. "How much time are we talking about?"

"Dad, please," Jade said, frustration in her voice. "I don't have time for this. I've been over this plan a thousand times. Trust me!"

Sam shifted her gaze from Jack to Jade and back again, watching the gears turning in his mind. Teal'c stepped forward and gripped his weapon in his hand.

"I shall accompany you, O'Neill."

Daniel looked a bit nervous, but he joined Teal'c and nodded to Jack.

"Dad," Jade said, tugging at her arm. "I have to go."

Jack reluctantly released her, his eyes fixed on Sam. She waited for his nod before she crossed the room and picked up her weapon, slinging the strap over her shoulder.

"Mom, you don't have to come," Jade objected, but Sam shook her head, stepping up beside the Colonel.

"You're going to need all the help you can get."

"I will monitor your positions from here," Thor promised. "But my crew and I must first complete the evacuation of our facility." Jack gave him a nod, and Sam glanced around the empty room, suddenly curious about the other Asgard on board. Before she could think too much about it, there was a bright flash of light, and the team appeared in one of the Asgard hallways on the surface.

The smooth, reddish walls curved out and upward, the ceiling stretching far above their heads, and the hallway seemed to go on infinitely in both directions. Sam raised her eyebrows at the many openings leading off of the main corridor, but Jade didn't hesitate, immediately starting off to take one of the large, round doorways on the left. Sam grabbed the back of her vest to hold her back, signaling the girl to stay behind her, and they headed off as a group, O'Neill taking point.

The hallway was wide and open, and the sound of their boots stepping across the smooth floor echoed throughout the corridor. Sam could hear Jade almost on her heels behind her, the girl's feet tapping loudly as she tried to keep up.

"I think I want a gun," she whispered, and Colonel O'Neill turned his head to answer her with a scowl. Jade continued to huddle up to Sam as they walked, pointing the Colonel in the right direction when they reached the first fork.

It was only a couple of minutes before the familiar mechanical sounds of the Replicators could be heard behind the walls, and Jade's eyes went wide, her hands clinging to Sam's vest tightly.

"I'm really wishing I had a gun right about now," she whispered.

Jack signaled for the group to stop, and Sam pressed her back against the wall, one hand gripping Jade's shoulder as she watched the Colonel peek around the corner ahead of them.

"Carter," he whispered with a jerk of his head, and she scooted over carefully to take his place, gesturing for Jade to stay put and peeking into the room that opened into the hallway in front of them.

The entire space was crawling with Replicators, their mechanical limbs whirring as they devoured the computer panels within. There were hundreds of them, and she ducked her head back to lean against the wall, trying to keep her fear under control. She turned to look over the Colonel's shoulder and gave Jade a questioning look, but the girl shook her head.

"Keep going," she mouthed, and Sam cringed. Jack looked thoughtful for a moment before turning back to face Teal'c and Daniel.

"Keep your weapons down," he whispered. Sam liked this plan. Hopefully, the bugs wouldn't see them as a threat, and they could pass by unnoticed.

She went first, holding her breath as she walked slowly past the doorway, her weapon slung behind her back. Her heart pounded in her chest as she watched the bugs skittering over the computer panels, occasionally spitting out a spray of liquid to break down the metals in their path. They didn't seem to pay her any attention, and she reached the other side quickly, turning to nod to O'Neill.

Jade was next, stepping as far from the opening as she could and running her hands across the back wall as she tip-toed past the doorway. Once she was across, she raced back to the other side of the corridor, squeezing her eyes shut and pressing her face to Sam's shoulder.

Daniel and Teal'c crossed carefully, followed by the Colonel, who kept his eyes on the Replicators and one hand on his gun the entire time. Once everyone was across, Teal'c took the lead as they continued down the corridor.

Sam kept a hand protectively on Jade's vest as she walked, and before long, the girl pointed to a closed door towards the end of the hallway. She stepped past Teal'c and ran her fingers over the control panel, the door sliding open smoothly.

"We don't have much time," Jade said nervously, hurrying into the room and up to the computer panel on the far wall. She pulled her pack off of her shoulders and dug out several alien devices, connecting one of them to the panel in front of her. As soon as the rest of the team was inside, Sam closed the door behind them and stepped up beside Jade. The girl's fingers were flying over the panel's surface, and Sam tried to keep up with what she was doing as Jade slid the crystal into a small slot to her right and watched the symbols appear on the screen.

"I was afraid of this," she said quietly.

"Oh, for crying out loud, what now?" Jack asked in irritation, leaving his place by the door to step up next to Sam. Jade continued to run her fingers over the computer panel as she spoke.

"The Replicators have already gotten into the computers. The research will have to download manually. It's going to take a while."

Daniel looked back over at the door and repositioned the weapon in his hands.

"Uh…how long is a while?"

Everyone looked over at Jade, and her eyes shone as she spoke.

"Too long for all of us to stay here. I'm really, really sorry. I was hoping I wouldn't have to do this. Please don't be angry."

Sam shared a confused look with Jack. "Jade, what-"

The next few seconds all happened so fast, Sam hardly had time to blink. Jade jumped away from the computer panel and rushed up to Daniel, swiping his pistol from its place against his thigh. Before Daniel could react, she reached down at hit something on the strange device on her wrist, and Jade's sorrowful expression was the last thing Sam saw before the bright light that took them all back up to Thor's bridge far above.

As soon as they realized what had happened, Sam heard Jack curse under his breath as he stepped up to Thor, who was standing with a small group of his Asgard crew, all of them looking at SG-1 in surprise.

"O'Neill, what has-"

"Send us back down," the Colonel demanded.

Thor fiddled with the controls in front of him for a moment and slowly shook his head.

"I cannot. It appears I have been locked out of transport controls."

"What?" Jack hissed. "Well, fix it. We've got to get back down there."

Daniel looked concerned, and he ran his eyes over the symbols on Thor's computer panel.

"What about the evacuation on the planet?"

"It is complete," Thor replied. "We must soon retreat from this position."

"No, wait!" Sam scanned the room in a panic, trying to think. Noticing the hologram platform in the corner, she pointed to it eagerly and reached out to grab Jack's arm. "Colonel, he can project us down. Maybe we can get her to release the controls."

He nodded and hurried up onto the platform, pulling Sam up by her vest to stand beside him.

"How long before you have to leave?" he asked sharply.

Thor scanned the screen in front of him.

"One of our ships has been damaged. It will take a short time to repair. We will use my ship to protect it until the repairs are complete." He blinked his eyes and turned his head sideways. "Perhaps twenty of your Earth minutes."

Jack nodded and stood up straight on the hologram platform.

"Twenty minutes. Terrific," he mumbled. "Alright, then. Send us down."


	14. Chapter 14

**I'm kind of scared that I'm going to be in trouble after this chapter...  
**

**OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO**

The room around them shimmered slightly, and then it faded to reveal the small Asgard laboratory below. Jade sat curled up on the floor, clutching Daniel's pistol tightly as she watched Sam and Colonel O'Neill appear suddenly beside her. Sam glanced at the computer panel, but she was unfamiliar with the design, and had no idea how much longer the download would take.

"Hey!" Jack called out sharply, almost stepping off the platform as he attempted to walk towards her. Frustrated, he leaned forward instead. "What do you think you're doing? Whatever you did to Thor's ship, I want you to undo it, and let us back down here. That's an order!"

Jade shook her head, her eyes on the door across the room. "I can't, Dad. You already gave me an order, and I'm following it. I'm so sorry…"

"I don't need you to be sorry," Jack snapped. "I need you alive."

Sam tried another tactic. "Jade, sweetie," she said gently, crouching down to sit at eye level with the frightened girl in front of her. "Why did you send us away? Why can't we stay and help you?"

The computer made a small noise, and Jade spun around to peek at the symbols on the screen, looking discouraged with the results and resuming her defensive position.

"If the research downloads in time, I'll return to the ship, but you're being here isn't going to make a difference. There's no point in risking everyone's life. Besides, I'm better off by myself. They won't attack me if I'm not a threat."

She sounded as if she was trying to convince herself of this, and Jack rubbed his hands over his face in frustration.

"They also eat everything in sight! Didn't your parents teach you _anything_?"

Jade looked up at the door again, wiping her sweaty palms on her pants and trying to steady her hands. Sam couldn't hear any Replicators yet, but she knew it wouldn't be long.

"Jade," she said, her voice coming out slightly panicked. "You have to let us down!"

She looked up at the Colonel, and she could see the fear and frustration in his eyes. She tried to keep her voice even as she pleaded with Jade.

"This isn't just on your shoulders. Let us help you!" The girl didn't answer, and Sam began feeling desperate.

"Please! We can't just sit here and watch you get killed! You're our _daughter_…"

Her voice broke and she stood back up, holding one hand over her mouth as she struggled to keep from crying. Jade looked up at her with her bright, shining eyes, and then she swallowed and turned away, speaking in a low voice.

"No, I'm not."

Sam dropped her hand from her face, and she felt Jack stiffen beside her.

"Excuse me?" he said quietly.

The girl continued to stare straight ahead, her eyes filling with tears as she spoke.

"I'm not your daughter." She took a deep breath and raised her chin slightly. "I am the reprogrammed genetic reproduction of the DNA of Jack and Samantha O'Neill."

Something lurched in Sam's stomach, and she gripped Jack's sleeve to hold herself up. Her next words came out in a harsh whisper.

"You're a _clone_?"

Jade flinched at the word, and she swallowed loudly, her chin beginning to tremble.

"Yes."

Jack still hadn't moved, and Sam shook her head numbly.

"I don't understand."

There was a loud clanging noise from somewhere in the hallway, and Jade gripped her pistol, her hands shaking visibly.

"You had to send someone back…someone who didn't exist in this timeline. You had access to the technology from your research on Asgard cloning, and you created me in secret."

"Created you…" Sam repeated the words slowly, staring down at the girl in front of her. Jade blinked her eyes, tears slipping down her cheeks as she went on.

"Yes. You genetically engineered me to have an extensive memory and the ability to learn very quickly, and I was taught all I needed to know for this mission."

"Including how to fool us?" Sam asked harshly. She glanced up at the Colonel, feeling nervous at the way he stared down at Jade, no expression on his face.

"It was Dad's idea," Jade answered, sniffing quietly. "He knew…" She stole a glance at Jack, looking pained as she spoke her next words. "He knew it would be easier for you to trust me…if you thought I was your daughter."

Sam shook her head, anger rising in her chest. "So that's why you look like us, and talk like us…you _are_ us."

There were more sounds behind the door, and Jade pressed her back against the wall.

"I was supposed to be, but you couldn't give me all of your memories. It was too complicated with two people. That's why you…engineered me…to learn so fast."

Each word seemed to cause the girl pain, and Sam struggled to make sense of everything going on inside of her. She felt angry, manipulated, and confused, but somehow, the growing mechanical sounds from behind the far wall filled her with a fear that overpowered everything else. She looked up at Jack, but he still stared blankly down at Jade.

"Colonel…"

The door shifted upwards a few inches, and small, metal legs could be seen underneath. Jade shrunk back in terror, beginning to sob quietly.

"Daddy…"

Sam felt terror grip her as she watched Colonel O'Neill back slowly off of the platform next to her, disappearing from view.

"Sir!" she called out, and she started to follow him when Jade let out a small whimper.

"Please don't leave me."

Sam stared down at the small girl curled up on the floor, and tears ran down her cheeks as she backed away.

"Just hold on, sweetie. Hold on."

She stepped off of the platform, and Jade's face faded from view, Daniel's confused expression taking its place.

"Sam, _what_ is going on?"

She turned to see Jack standing expressionless behind her, and she reached out a hand to grip his arm.

"Colonel, it doesn't matter. Please, sir-"

He stepped away from her and turned to face Thor, who was still working with his computer.

"I don't care how you do it," he said sharply. "But I want you to send me down to the surface_ right now_."

Thor blinked his large eyes and nodded. "I have resumed control of the long-range transportation system, which means-"

"Great," Jack cut him off. "Teal'c, Daniel? Let's go."

Thor held up a small, gray finger.

"O'Neill, I will be unable to transport you back to the ship unless you return to the materialization device on the planet. If you are unable to return, you will be stranded, unless you can convince your daughter to relinquish control of the main transporters."

Jack's eyes clouded briefly, and Sam stepped up to him, holding her weapon in front of her.

"I'm coming too, sir."

O'Neill shook his head. "I need you to stay here and work on getting those controls back."

"But, sir-"

"That's an order, Major," he barked, heading for the door with Teal'c and Daniel following close behind. "Get those transport systems back online!"

"Wait!" she called out desperately. Jack paused and turned sharply.

"What?"

Sam tried to sort out the conflicting emotions raging inside of her, but it was just too much. She threw her arms around Jack's neck and hugged him tightly, whispering into his shoulder.

"Please bring her back safe."

Jack wrapped his arms around her and gave her a quick squeeze before pulling away.

"We'll be back soon," he said simply, and just like that, they rounded the corner and disappeared out of sight.

**OoOoOoOoOoOoO**

**Nobody panic. I wrote the story from the beginning to go this way, but it's not as bad as it seems. Just wait...**


	15. Chapter 15

**Hey guys! I hope you're all having a fantastic weekend. Thank you so so so much for all your reviews last chapter. I was honestly expecting you all to chew me out, but it seems like you actually liked the twist. Go figure. I'm so glad though. Please keep the reviews coming! :)**

**OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO**

The moment they transported down, Jack took off down the hallway, his weapon held up at chest-level in front of him. The corridor didn't look familiar, but thankfully, there appeared to be only one direction to go.

"Jack," Daniel whispered loudly. "What's going on? Is she okay? Is she still getting the research?"

Jack ignored him and kept close to the curved wall, trying to focus on the situation at hand. Unfortunately, Carter's words kept running through his head, making it extremely difficult to concentrate.

"_Colonel, it doesn't matter…"_

Jack hated being lied to, being used…manipulated. Still, he couldn't help playing those words over and over, knowing deep down how true they were. As angry as he was, Jack still felt a profound sense of loyalty towards this girl, _his_ girl, no matter what she was, and there was no way he was going to let her be torn to pieces trying to save all of their lives.

"Jack!" Daniel hissed from behind him.

"I don't know, Daniel!" Jack said sharply over his shoulder. "All I know is she is _not_ who we thought she was."

"Yeah, we heard that part," Daniel replied. "But is she still getting the research? Are we going to help her, or are we-"

"Yes, Daniel," Jack whispered back, irritated that his friend would think otherwise. "Now please, be quiet."

He pressed his ear to the wall, hearing the faint metallic sounds of the Replicators somewhere within. He felt his pulse quicken and glanced down the hallway, lifting the Asgard communicator up in front of his lips.

"Where to, Carter?"

There was a pause, and then Sam's voice came across clearly.

"Take your next left, and follow that corridor until it forks. The Replicators will be drawn to the energy from the beaming technology, but it looks like they'll be coming from the other direction, so you should be clear until you get close to the main computer core."

Jack glanced briefly at his watch, and then promptly wished he hadn't.

"We haven't got much time, guys," he said over his shoulder, breaking into a swift jog as they followed Sam's directions and ducked off to their left. The ceiling dropped down lower, and the sound of the Replicators slowly began getting louder as they made their way down the long hallway.

"Carter," he hissed into the communicator, trying to keep an eye out for bugs as he ran. "There are some pretty nasty noises down here. How close are we?"

"Just a little farther, sir. The computer core will be coming up on your right, and directly across from it is the corridor you need to take. The room we were in is the second door on the right."

_That doesn't sound so bad._

"You may have to fight your way through, Colonel. The room containing the core is sure to be filled with Replicators. Please be careful, sir."

Jack groaned audibly and dropped the communicator into his pocket. Teal'c fell in step beside him, shifting the strap on his weapon.

"O'Neill," he whispered loudly. "I do not believe we will have time to return to the materialization device. Thor's ship must be allowed to leave orbit with the others. Retrieving the cloning research will be of no use if his ship is destroyed by Repicators."

"I get it, Teal'c," Jack said with a frown. "If Jade doesn't release those controls, we're all toast."

They rounded the next corner and skidded to a stop. The floor appeared to be moving, small mechanical limbs skittering in every direction. The bugs poured out of holes in the walls, climbing up the high, metallic beams as they worked on slowly devouring the facility from the inside out. Jack took a deep breath and lifted his weapon, his jaw tightening as he glanced at his friends beside him.

"All we have to do is get to Jade," he assured them. "We can hold them from there."

Daniel looked a little skeptical, but he nodded his head slowly and faced the swarm of bugs in front of them. There was a momentary pause as Jack tried to prepare himself for what he was about to do, and then he gave a short yell and took off running down the corridor, firing a continuous spray of bullets into the mass of mechanical insects in their path.

The Replicators reacted immediately, the entire swarm leaving their separate places to merge together and attack the intruders. Jack fired into the center of the mass, sending individual replicator blocks scattering across the floor. He didn't hesitate, but immediately hurried through the thin path that was left between the bugs still skittering towards him, Teal'c and Daniel close on his heels. He heard continuous fire from his friends behind him as he turned down the corridor that Sam had indicated, but he had no desire to turn and see just how many Replicators were on their tail. He broke into a dead run, continuing to fire his weapon into any clusters of bugs he ran across, and only slowing when he reached the familiar room on their right. His boots slid on the smooth floor as he stopped, ducking into the open doorway, and his jaw dropped at the sight before him.

Jade was nowhere to be seen, the computer panel she had been hiding under swarming with Replicators. They crawled over its surface with their mechanical bodies consuming the circuitry, and Jack scanned the room in a panic, searching for anything to give him a clue as to where Jade had gone. His heart stopped when he saw one of the bugs with a small, clear device between its limbs. Daniel came up behind him, panting loudly, and he followed Jack's line of vision to the foreign object on the floor in front of them.

"Uh, Jack?" he asked nervously. "Isn't that what Jade used to send us all back up to the ship?"

One of the Replicators on the computer panel spotted the group in the doorway, and Teal'c grabbed Daniel and Jack by their collars, yanking them out of the way as the bug coiled backwards and sprang out at them. It was only then that Jack noticed the swarm of Replicators still chasing them down the hallway, and he fired into them a few more times before taking off the other way.

"Where is she?" Daniel asked as they ran, spinning backwards to fire into the bugs behind them. "You don't think…"

"There was no evidence of human remains," Teal'c said between the loud spray of gunfire, and Jack cringed at the thought.

"She's here somewhere," he assured them, and he pulled the communicator back out of his pocket, dropping his weapon to let it hang around his neck. He pulled his pistol out of its place against his thigh and continued to fire as he called out to Sam.

"Carter, how's it coming?"

He ducked his head as one of the bugs shot out a spray of liquid towards him, and Teal'c fired into it, Replicator blocks flying in every direction as Sam's voice came in over the device in Jack's hand.

"I'm working as fast as I can, sir! I don't know what she did, but the transport systems are offline on all three of the Asgard ships. I'm not sure there's anything I can do without her help, at least not in five minutes!"

Daniel pushed his two friends into an open doorway and hit the panel next to it, the door sliding closed and giving them a second to breathe. Jack held the communicator up to his lips and panted into it as Teal'c scanned the room for another exit.

"You'll figure it out, Carter."

There was a loud scurrying sound on the other side of the door, and Teal'c tugged at what appeared to be a vent in the wall behind them. Daniel helped him rip it off of the wall, revealing a small hole, just wide enough to crawl through. Jack slipped his pistol back into its holster and followed the other two out of the room, one eye on the door as he slid backwards into the small opening and whispered into the device in his hand.

"But first, there's one other thing I need you to do…"


	16. Chapter 16

**Sorry this chapter's up so late. I went to visit family today. Please review if you approve!**

**OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO**

Jade's small hands trembled violently, her fingers gripping the delicate Asgard crystal containing the successfully downloaded research. She held it close to her chest with one hand, her chin bent over her fist as she nervously watched the sealed door across the room. Her other hand tightly held Daniel's pistol, but she knew perfectly well that it wouldn't do her much good once she was found.

The Replicators had been more interested in the computer panel where she had been working than in her, so Jade had been able to escape out of the room she had been hiding in by slowly backing away, keeping her gun and the crystal out of sight. One of the Replicators had attacked her as she tried to sneak out of the room, going after the Asgard device on her wrist, but she was able to get it off with only a few small cuts on her left arm. She considered herself incredibly lucky, or at least, she had, until she'd been cornered in the large, empty storeroom at the end of the corridor. It was only a matter of time before the bugs got the door open, and the storage container she had climbed on top of wouldn't be hard for them to reach.

She tried to remain strong, despite the fact that she had clearly made an enormous mistake. The order her father had _really_ given her had just been too difficult to follow. She knew that he wanted her to return to the ship if it appeared that the download would take too long, that he had demanded that she let one of the others remain, preferably himself, until the last possible second to get the research. Jade had known from the beginning that it was likely this would happen, and she simply couldn't allow someone else to risk their life while she cowered in safety. She'd gone over the schematics of the Asgard's vessel technology to know exactly how to disable their transport systems, and she had thought it would be a clever plan. All she'd have to do is wait alone until the download was complete, thus not risking the lives of anyone she cared about.

Unfortunately, it wasn't until she was running frantically down the corridor with the crystal safely in hand, but no way to return control of the transport systems, that she realized what a grave mistake she had made.

_I should have let them stay._

There was a loud thud from the other side of the door, and Jade tried to steady her breathing, blinking back frightened tears. After all the planning, all the studying, all the work and time and preparation…she had blown the whole thing with one stupid, irrational, emotional decision.

Memories flooded her mind uncontrollably as she waited for the Replicators to unseal the door. She remembered the moment she woke up for the first time, when Sam had held her face in her hands and smiled brightly at her. She could still recall the first words she heard her father say, the moment he introduced himself and explained who she was. Jade could remember every second of every day since the first time she opened her eyes, and all of those moments swirled around in her mind, until one very clear memory surfaced, and she closed her eyes as she let herself go back to that very last day, the last time she would ever see them…

_The lab was the same, nothing about the room any different from the day before, but suddenly it was terrifying. The walls were too confining, the equipment piled up in the corners seeming ominous and threatening. Jade had spent most of her life in this room, studying with her parents for hours on end as they went over their plan again and again and again. The six months had flown by too quickly; somehow, she thought they'd have more time. No one had expected the invasion to begin so soon._

_The stasis chamber was hooked up to an Asgard computer monitoring system, and Teal'c was waiting with the vehicle outside to take them to Cheyenne Mountain. Jade's stomach churned as she climbed down the familiar set of stairs, holding tightly to her father's hand._

"_I wish you were going instead," she said sincerely. "I don't deserve to live more than you, or Mom, or anybody else." Jack kept silent as he slowly walked down the steps beside her. They all knew perfectly well that once the Solaris invaded, there would be no one left alive on the planet. The only chance anyone had was to leave, by one means or another. Jade knew her parents would never give up hope, that they would die fighting if necessary, but she still felt like a coward for leaving, despite the weighty responsibility she carried. She bit down on her bottom lip and tried her best to keep the tears back._

"_I don't want to let you down."_

_Jack squeezed her fingers and smiled. "You won't."_

_They slowly walked across the room, where Sam's fingers were running over the computer keys on the panel in the corner. She turned and gave Jade a forced smile, her lips pressed tightly together. _

"_Okay," she said, obviously doing her best to keep her voice cheerful. "We're all set here. You ready?"_

_Jade tried to keep her head up, to stay as strong as they were, but there were so many fears bubbling up inside of her, she just couldn't bear it. She stopped and gripped her father' s hand with both of hers, panic rising in her throat._

"_Dad, when they find out what I am-"_

"_Hey," Jack interrupted her gently, gripping her chin. "You are Jade O'Neill. That's what you are. You understand?"_

_She felt tears spilling over, and she struggled to keep calm as she nodded, stepping up to the stasis pod. She reached out to hold tight to Sam's arm, her breathing ragged and her hands trembling._

"_Mom," she whispered. "If I do this, everything's going to change!" She let go of Jack's hand and braced herself on the table in front of her. "What if I make a mistake? What if I get someone killed? Or even worse, I could cause someone to never be born!"_

"_Jade, sweetie," Sam reassured her. "We have absolute faith in you. You've been preparing all your life for this. We know you can do it."_

_Jack gave her a hand up as Jade crawled into the pod, her entire body shaking._

"_Daddy…" she sobbed, unable to let him go. "I'm never going to see you again!"_

_Jack took a deep breath, and Sam blinked back tears as she helped Jade settle into the chamber._

"_Sure you will," Jack said softly. "When you open your eyes, I bet I'll be the first thing you see." His voice broke and he tried to smile. "We'll still be right here."_

_Sam turned and double checked the figures on the computer behind them, wiping her eyes with the back of her hand. Jade shook her head, holding her fingers over her mouth to keep back the sobs in her throat._

"_But you won't even know me! Please, Dad, I don't want to leave you! _Please_ let me stay! I'm not afraid to die!"_

_Jack leaned up to her and wrapped both arms around her trembling body, pulling Sam next to him by her sleeve to help him hold her. The three of them stood clinging to each other, Jade's sobs echoing around the small lab._

"_Okay," she finally cried into her father's shoulder, nodding her head numbly as she leaned back. "Okay, I can do this." She held up her chin and wiped her eyes. "Tell Teal'c goodbye for me, and tell him thank you for everything. And give Danny a kiss for me. And please…" She stepped back and laid a hand on Sam's cheek. "Please take care of each other…until I see you again."_

_Jack nodded and helped her lay down in the pod, and Jade could see that he was trying hard to hide his pain from her. "That's my little soldier," he murmured consolingly. "You're so brave. Just close your eyes…it'll be over soon."_

_Sam gave Jack a nod, letting him know they were ready, and then she leaned over to stroke Jade's hair, tears streaming down her cheeks._

"_Jade," she said, her voice sounding strangled as she leaned over the stasis chamber. "I hope you know...we couldn't love you more if you really were…"_

_Unable to finish getting out the words, she turned and buried her face in Jack's shoulder, the sound of her muffled sobs barely audible over the whirring of the machine next to them. Jade took a few deep breaths and nodded to her father._

"_Okay," she said shakily. "I'm ready."_

_She shut her eyes tight, and there was a click as the panel over her slid closed. The pod began to vibrate slightly, and she felt an odd chill for just a moment before everything went black, her whispered goodbye fading into the silence._

There was a loud thud from the other side of the door, and Jade's eyes fluttered open. She reached up to wipe away the tears running down her cheeks, her heart aching at the memory of her last goodbye. She was afraid to think of what had happened to her family in her time, whether they had fought to the end, or escaped to the Alpha Site to find Daniel and little Danny. She thought of how disappointed they would be to know she had failed, that she had single-handedly doomed the entire Asgard and Human race to extinction.

There was an all-too familiar mechanical skittering sound that echoed around the empty room as the door slid up suddenly, and a swarm of bugs poured in across the floor and over the walls, some even making their way across the ceiling. Jade tucked the Asgard crystal into her pocket and tried to aim Daniel's pistol with her trembling hands, but there were so many…she couldn't imagine it would help things to shoot four or five bugs out of the hundreds that had already begun devouring everything in sight. She curled up into a ball instead, squishing her body as far from the edge of the container as possible and trying to find some small shred of hope that she could still cling to.

_Daddy, please get me out of here…_


	17. Chapter 17

**I'm so sleepy! Must...finish...chapter...before...bed...**

**Please review!**

**OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO**

Jade knew that it was only a matter of seconds before the Replicators swarming into the room found their way to her position, and she tried to prepare herself for what was about to happen. She covered her ears with her hands, wishing she could block out the deafening mechanical noises around her, when suddenly she heard a sound that was completely out of place. She shot up from her coiled position, searching for the source of the gunfire she had clearly heard coming from the hallway. The bugs heard it too, and they all immediately stopped to turn toward the sound. Jade's heart leaped in her chest when she saw a small, grey face peek around the corner of the doorway, vanishing again as quickly as it had appeared.

"Hey!" she yelled out, leaning forward on her knees. "Get out of here! Run!"

The Replicators began skittering towards the doorway, following the sound of weapons fire that drifted down the corridor. Jade was stunned, unsure of what to do, and extremely confused by what she had seen. As the last of the bugs disappeared out of the room, she climbed down from her hiding place, heading for the corridor with a small semblance of a plan to draw the Replicators away from the poor Asgard in the hallway.

"Psst!"

Jade spun around in surprise and looked up, overjoyed to see Jack pressing his hands against a large grate high up in the corner of the wall.

"Dad!" she cried out, almost jumping up and down with happiness. "I'm so glad to see you! But I have to go help-"

"No, you don't," he interrupted, finally shaking the grate loose, the heavy material hitting the floor with a loud clang. "It's just a hologram from the ship. Let's go!"

Jade blinked in surprise, turning back to the door and peeking her head out into the hallway. Her eyes found the small grey alien at the end of the corridor, awkwardly firing a spray of bullets into the mass of Replicators approaching his position. The bullets disappeared into the air as they passed the hologram's perimeter, and Jade couldn't help but grin, wondering how the bugs would react when their mechanical bodies shot right through the projection.

"Jade!" Jack hissed from behind her. "Let's go!"

She spun and around and pushed the large container she'd been hiding on top of across the room, climbing up to grab Jack's outstretched arms. He tugged her up to the opening, and she wrapped her arms around him as soon as she made it over the edge.

"Thank you so much, Dad," she cried, pressing her cheek to his shoulder. "I'm so so sorry that I-"

"We'll talk about it later," he said gruffly, leaning over her head to eye the room below them. "You got the research?"

Jade nodded and patted her pocket, and Jack leaned back away from the opening.

"Then let's get out of here."

There was just enough space for Jack to turn around in, and Jade spied Daniel's boots crawling in front of Jack as they headed away from the room behind them. She assumed Teal'c was leading the way, and she followed as quickly as she could, trying not to feel claustrophobic in the cramped crawlspace.

"Daniel?" Jack called out ahead. "How are we doing?"

"Our twenty minutes are up," Daniel answered over his shoulder. "Got a plan B?"

Jack paused to pull his communicator out of his pocket, and Daniel and Teal'c stopped to wait for him, resting back on their feet with their backs against the curved walls around them.

"Carter?" Jack said nervously. "We're out of time."

There was no response, and Jade turned her head to look over her shoulder in horror as she heard the Replicators from somewhere behind her, the whirring sound echoing through the tunnel. They had figured out Thor's hologram a lot quicker than she'd thought they would.

"Carter!" Jack cried out, his eyes widening. "Did you hear me? Get us out of here!"

The sound grew louder, and Jack dropped his communicator, yelling out, "Move! Move!" to his friends in front of him. Jade tried her best to keep up with them, but she could hear the bugs right on her heels, and she cried out in terror as something sharp grabbed her ankle.

"Dad!" she screamed, trying to kick it off as she crawled. Jack spun around and held up his weapon, pushing Jade's head down and firing into the bugs behind her. The bullets whizzed over her head, the Replicator blocks scattering in every direction and raining down on her as more of the bugs swarmed the tunnel.

"O'Neill!" Teal'c called out from ahead of them. "There are more Replicators coming from this direction! We are trapped!"

Jade heard gunfire coming from everywhere, and it mixed with the growing sound of mechanical limbs as more Replicators attacked from behind her. Jack was trying his best to hold them back, but they poured down the tunnel relentlessly, and he was quickly losing ground. Jade had nowhere to run, and she screamed and held tight to her father's ankle as the cold metallic legs began skittering up her body.

All of a sudden, everything went completely silent, as if someone had flipped a switch somewhere, and Jade pressed her forehead into Jack's boot, afraid to even breathe.

_Am I dead?_

The floor beneath her was cold, and she peeked open one eye to see her mother standing over her, concern all over her face.

"Is everyone okay?" she asked nervously.

Jade blinked and slowly released Jack's boot, raising herself up and glancing around her. Daniel sat up and leaned back on his hands, a huge grin on his face, and he slapped Teal'c on the back.

"We made it!" he said excitedly. "Way to go, Sam!"

Sam had knelt down next to Jade, holding the girl's arm and turning it to get a good look at the cuts in her skin.

"Are you hurt?" she asked, and Jade shook her head slowly, still unable to believe that she was alive. Sam reached over and held out her hand to Jack, helping him sit up beside Jade.

"Nice timing, Carter," he said simply, stretching as he rose up from the floor. The wall in front of them was riddled with bullet holes, and Thor stepped away from the hologram platform, returning Sam's weapon as he approached his computer panel.

"We must leave orbit, O'Neill. I must escort our damaged ship out of this region of space."

Jack waved his hand and replied, "Fine. Let's go, then!"

Jade leaned over her bent knees, watching as Sam and Jack exchanged a meaningful look, Jack's eyes warm as he smiled down at her. She glanced at the large screen across the room, watching as Thor navigated the ship away from the two Replicator vessels still in orbit, leaving the planet behind. A grin slowly spread across her face, and she hugged her knees, hardly able to accept that it was all over.

_I can't believe I actually did it!_

"Jade?"

She turned her head and saw four pairs of eyes on her, and she let out a small sigh.

"I guess I'm in trouble, huh?"

Jack crossed his arms and raised his eyebrows. "You guess?"

She smiled sheepishly and stood up, stuffing her hands into her pockets. "I guess I owe you an explanation, too."

Jack leaned forward and frowned. "You _guess_?"

The ship hummed as Thor activated the hyperdrive, and Jade leaned back against the computer panel behind her.

"Well, I guess I should start at the beginning..."


	18. Chapter 18

**Wow, this ended up an incredibly long chapter, but so much needed to be said...I hope it's not too boring. If you have any other questions about anything that I just didn't explain clear enough, feel free to send me a message and I'll be happy to answer them. I hope I didn't thoroughly confuse everybody. Don't worry...this isn't the end or anything. Getting close though!  
**

**Please review and let me know how this went...**

**OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO**

The room grew very quiet as Jade began her story, the ship humming around them as it headed back to the Asgard homeworld. Sam leaned back next to Colonel O'Neill on one of the computer panels in the room, and she pretended not to notice when he casually moved over to let his arm brush up against hers.

"I'm not really sure where to start," Jade said slowly, furrowing her eyebrows in deep thought. "I guess, first, I want to make sure you understand that everything I told you was the truth."

"Like _hell_ it was!" Jack said sharply, folding his arms over his chest.

"Hey!" Jade snapped back. "I never said I was your biological daughter. It was Dr. Fraiser who said you were my parents. And you _are_…in a manner of speaking."

"Come on, Jade," Daniel said quietly, giving her a small smile. "That's really stretching it, don't you think?"

"No," she said with a glare in his direction. "I don't."

"Well, what about everything else?" Sam asked. "All those stories you told about us…"

"I didn't lie about any of it!" Jade insisted. "Everything happened just like I said. My parents got married, and after Dad retired, he wanted kids, so Mom came home from…" She paused, looking uncertain about how much she should say. "…from where she was, so they could start a family. Only, it wasn't me that they had. It was Danny."

Sam's mind had been so preoccupied with Jade, she had almost forgotten about little Danny. She was suddenly very curious about him, and she restrained herself from asking a string of questions as Jade continued, stretching her feet out below her.

"After the Solaris invaded our galaxy the first time, my parents knew that the best chance our planet had for survival was the Asgard, so they decided to send someone back to save this research." She patted her pocket and went on. "The problem, of course, was who to send. Dad wanted Mom to go. They both knew that it was pretty unlikely anybody left on Earth would survive, and Dad was hoping she could come back to this time with Danny, and they'd be safe here."

Sam stole a glance at Jack, hardly surprised at this. He kept his eyes on Jade, but he leaned his arms back and rested his hand just next to hers, loosely linking their fingers together. Sam smiled to herself and returned her attention to Jade.

"There were a couple of problems though," the girl continued. "First off, Mom didn't want to go. She wanted to stay with Dad, of course."

Sam gently squeezed Jack's hand behind her back.

_Of course._

"But more importantly, she wasn't sure what would happen if they sent back someone who already existed here. She said it was possible that she would experience entropic cascade failure if she tried to stay here in the same time as you." She nodded her head to Sam, and Jack frowned, looking confused.

"Was that the thing that caused the…other you…" He made a gesture to indicate the long hair of Sam's alternate reality counterpart. "…to have those convulsions and stuff?"

Sam nodded. "Yes, sir. Entropic cascade failure occurs when-"

Jack held up his hand and made a noise of protest. "That's good enough, Carter. I get it." He turned back to Jade and gestured for her to continue.

"Well anyway, she just wasn't sure it was possible for her to coexist with another version of herself, and they couldn't take the chance." She shrugged her shoulders and pressed her lips together in a tight smile. "So, I was plan B."

She paused her story to pull her legs up off the floor, sitting cross-legged on the panel and stretching her arms.

"Um…let's see. Well, Mom decided that an actual clone wouldn't solve the problem, but if she could somehow use the Asgard technology and _both_ of your DNA, she hoped she could sort of clone both of you." She held up one finger and leaned forward. "Let me just add here that _technically_, a clone is an identical copy of the original, which I am not, so that word doesn't actually apply to me. I'm more like a…genetically engineered offspring."

Teal'c raised an eyebrow and spoke up from across the room. "Does this mean that your mind contains the memories of Major Carter and Colonel O'Neill?"

Jade shook her head adamantly. "No, no. I mean, I think that's what they wanted. They were hoping that I would have their memories…their knowledge and experience…but unfortunately, it didn't work." She scrunched up her nose at the thought. "I mean,_ I_ don't really think it's unfortunate. That would be kind of weird."

Jack raised his eyebrows. "Yeah…I don't think I'd be okay with that."

"Anyway," Jade said, shaking her head. "It didn't work. When I woke up, I didn't know _anything_. I mean, there was a lot up here…" She tapped her temple with one finger. "But I just couldn't process it. Thankfully, Mom had prepared for the possibility. That's why she engineered me to learn so fast. For the most part, I only had to be shown something once, and I understood."

"You remember all of this?" Sam asked curiously, and Jade nodded her head.

"Yeah, unfortunately. Those first three weeks were _so_ frustrating, for all of us. I couldn't even brush my teeth without being shown how. It was pretty pathetic really." She chuckled quietly, a slight sparkle in her eyes. "You know, it was Danny who helped out the most those first few weeks." She caught Daniel's confused look and added, "Little Danny, I mean. He was just learning to read and write, and he made me all these flash cards to help me learn things…he'd write these giant illegible words in green crayon and tape them up to things…lamp, table, book, Dad…" She grinned broadly at the memory. "He had so much patience. He showed me how to tie my shoes, how to write my name, how to eat spaghetti…" Her eyes misted over and she laughed again. "When I first met Teal'c, Danny introduced me as his little sister. He was such a sweet…" She trailed off and took a deep breath, blinking her tears away and wiping her eyes. "Anyway, after the first month or so, things got a lot easier, and I started learning things on my own. Mom would set a book in front of me, I'd read through it, and I usually got the gist. She gave me a crash course in mathematics, astrophysics, quantum mechanics…" She paused and waved her hand in the air. "Well, a lot of stuff. She had a lot of work to do on the base though, and once she was satisfied that I could learn by myself, she started spending most of her days there." She gave Sam a meaningful look, as if reading her mind. "It was _really_ important work, and I understood."

Sam recalled a similar conversation between the two of them, and she sighed, suddenly seeing Jade's words in a whole new light.

"So, after that, most days it was just the three of us…Dad, Danny, and me. I did have a lot of studying to do, but it wasn't too bad. Teal'c came to stay with us my third month, so he and Dad could get ahold of the technology to send me here, and it was nice having him around." She flashed a smile Teal'c's direction. "He told some great jokes."

Jack raised his eyebrows in disbelief, and Teal'c bowed his head to Jade, but her eyes had turned dark and serious, and she looked down at her hands as she spoke.

"They knew from the beginning that I wouldn't be around long. The second the Solaris returned, they would have to send me back. There would be almost no warning, and…well…" She sighed and tucked her hair behind her ears. "They didn't want to love me. It would only make things harder when they had to send me here."

Sam felt torn, wanting to cross the room and put her arms around Jade, but held into place by Jack's calloused fingers winding around hers.

"But I loved _them_," Jade said softly. "From the first moment I opened my eyes and saw my mother smiling down at me…"

She grew quiet, lost in the memories of her past, and Daniel pulled out his canteen, taking a long drink before offering a sip to Teal'c. Sam was content to sit quietly with Jack, trying hard to resist the urge to lean her head over on his shoulder. After a few moments, Jade shook her head and looked over at Jack.

"Sorry. Where was I?"

"Teal'c tells great jokes," he replied.

"Oh, right." She sat up straight and let her legs fall back down over the floor. "Well, I'll just skip ahead. Six months went by, and there was still no sign of the Solaris. People were starting to say that maybe we chased them off for good…maybe we were safe. I guess, really, I knew better, but I wanted it to be true. I started thinking…maybe I could just stay." She started swinging her feet beneath her and smiled. "Teal'c got an apartment in town, and Mom wasn't working as much, so we all spent a lot of time together. She cleared out her office so I could have my own room. It had this huge window right next to my bed, and I could look out at night and see the stars…I love the stars…" She sighed and stilled her feet, a sadness filling her eyes. "Dad and I were playing chess when we got the call. It's funny…we'd been ready for that call for months, but in the end…well, I guess we weren't really ready." She closed her eyes and shook her head. "Everything happened so fast. Daniel came to get little Danny, and actually, it was the first time I'd ever met him in person, but we were all in too much of a frenzy to really get acquainted. See, there was an evacuation for certain military personnel and their families to the Alpha Site, and my parents were supposed to go there too." She paused and sighed again. "Honestly, I don't know if they ever made it, but they wanted to make sure Danny got there safe. Mom and I helped him pack up his little red backpack…with the dinosaur on the pocket…" Her voice broke, and she wrapped her arms around herself, tears spilling over her lashes. "He had to get his bear, and his pictures he'd drawn…and Mom made sure he had a jacket. He said his goodbyes to Mom and Dad, and then he…" She tried to take a deep breath, but it came in as little gasps instead. "…he turned and looked at me with this confused look on his little face, and he said, 'Aren't you coming?'" She let out a few quiet sobs before she was able to go on, hugging herself tightly. "I didn't know what to say, so I just knelt down and told him what I'd been telling him for months. I told him I had to go save the world." She laughed a little and wiped her tears, shaking her head slowly. "It's funny, he didn't even seem upset. He told me to be careful and he kissed my cheek…I think he understood better than any of us…"

Sam found herself sniffling quietly, completely wrapped up in Jade's story. She felt a strange sense of loss for the sweet little boy she had never known, and she forgot about her resolve not to lean over on Jack's shoulder, letting him wrap his arm around her waist. Jade exhaled slowly, releasing the grip on her shoulders.

"And then everybody was gone, and it was just Mom and Dad and me. They took me down to the lab and we said our goodbyes, and then they stuck me in that awful machine…" She looked up and Jack and smiled. "And then I woke up, and there you were, just like you said you'd be, and I knew that everything was going to be okay."

The room was silent for a few moments, until finally, Sam spoke up in a soft voice.

"Why didn't you just tell us the truth?"

Jade looked down at her feet as she replied.

"Because you told me not to. You said I wouldn't be trusted."

Sam started to protest, but Jade held up her hand to stop her.

"Trust me, my parents had experience with stuff like this before. Clones, replicas, Replicators…"

"Replicators?" Daniel asked curiously.

"Long story," she answered. "The point is, they said that if you knew the truth, all you'd see in me was some kind of copy, and I wouldn't be trusted. Dad said the NID would come and take me away, and you'd never let me on Thor's ship."

Sam decided that this was probably true, and she raised her head up off of the Colonel's shoulder to ask another question.

"Well then, why did you tell us the truth when you were on the surface? Why not just let us go on believing that we were your biological parents?"

Jade looked embarrassed, and she slipped her hands into her pockets.

"Well, I thought I was probably going to die." Her voice grew softer as she added, "I thought it would be cruel of me to let you think that you'd actually lost a child."

Sam shook her head in disbelief, and she pushed away from the computer panel, crossing the room to throw her arms around her daughter.

"I don't know what your parents told you, or didn't tell you, or how they felt about you," she said firmly. "But I know that here, in this time, with _this_ Sam and Jack…" She glanced over at Colonel O'Neill, and he gave her a small smile and nodded his head, so she went on, holding Jade's face in her hands.

"Here, Jade, you are loved, and if you will _please_ just be honest with us from now on, Colonel O'Neill and I would be _proud_ to call you our daughter."

Tears welled up in Jade's eyes as she grinned, and she nodded her head slowly.

"Thank you so much," she whispered. "As for being honest, don't worry. After today, it won't be a problem."

Sam got a funny feeling at hearing these words, and she cringed as she asked slowly, "Why?"

Jade shared a look with Thor, who had been watching the scene curiously from across the room.

"Because before we get back to Earth, I'm going to have all of my memories erased."


	19. Chapter 19

**Thanks for all the reviews, guys. Yes, I wrote the story from the beginning to fit with Jade's origin. I tried to give a few hints from the beginning, but it was fun to surprise you. :)  
**

**Speaking of which, sorry I freaked you guys out with the ending of the last chapter. I hope this one alleviates some of your fears.**

**OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO**

After Jade's announcement, the room was completely silent, and Jack slowly stepped up beside Carter and put his hands in his pockets.

"I'm sorry," he said, squinting his eyes in confusion. "What did you say?"

Jade sighed and crossed her arms, leaning her head over on Sam's shoulder. "It's too dangerous…don't you get it? If there's any chance of me living a normal life on Earth…" She paused and smiled up at Sam. "…which is all I really want, then I can't keep living with all of this knowledge of the future in my head."

Jack rubbed his eyes and tried to keep the exasperation out of his voice. "Jade, we all have things we'd like to forget, but that doesn't mean we can just…wipe them out and start over."

"Come on, Dad," Jade said, sounding irritated. "It's hardly the same thing. What happens the first time a big decision has to be made? When you meet up with some new alien race and you have to decide whether or not to trust them? Don't you realize there will be those who will believe that I should reveal my knowledge of future events? Don't you know they'll take me away…stick me in a room somewhere and try to force me to tell them what they want to know?" There was fear creeping into her voice, and Jack realized with frustration that Jade was exactly right. As soon as the NID discovered the truth about Jade, they wouldn't hesitate to try and take her away, only seeing her as another tool to use as they saw fit. Even his superiors…maybe even the president… wouldn't understand why she couldn't give them any information. Jack wondered if even _he_ would understand. Would he resent Jade if someone he cared about was killed and she didn't give them a warning? Daniel spoke up and interrupted his thoughts, crossing his arms as he leaned forward next to them on the computer panel.

"She's probably right, Jack."

"Indeed," Teal'c added. "This knowledge of the outcome of future events would not only be difficult to live with, it could be extremely dangerous."

"You understand, don't you?" the girl asked pleadingly, raising her wide blue eyes to meet Jack's. Sam reached up to smooth Jade's hair, sounding worried as she answered.

"We understand, Jade, but…" She looked up at Jack, and he stepped a little closer, resting his hand on her back. "…surely you don't have to erase everything."

Thor spoke up from across the room, and they all turned to see a large bluish planet growing on the screen beside him.

"We are approaching Othala. I must speak with the others, and then I will return you all to your planet." He blinked his eyes and turned to Jade. "If you still wish to proceed-"

"She's still thinking!" Jack snapped, and Thor bowed his head slightly.

"Very well. I will return shortly."

He gracefully crossed the room and disappeared through the doorway, and Jack turned back to face the others.

"Dad," Jade said, looking thoughtful. "You remember when you had the knowledge of the Ancients downloaded into your brain, and the Asgard had to remove it for you?"

Jack gave her a blank look. "Rings a bell. Why?"

Sam and Daniel exchanged glances, suddenly looking excited.

"Sir," Carter said eagerly. "If they could isolate and remove that information, maybe they can do the same for Jade!"

The girl held up her hands. "Hold on, it's not exactly the same. The knowledge of the Ancients was very specific, and it was newly downloaded into his mind." Jack cringed at the memory, wishing they could talk about something else, and Jade gave him an apologetic look as she continued. "All I'm saying is I will still be me. Thor went over the procedure, and he assured me that my personality will remain intact. Also, he won't be able to remove the things that were genetically passed on to me."

Daniel looked slightly confused. "I thought you said you didn't have their memories."

"I don't," she replied, shaking her head. "I mean, not anything specific. I can remember certain feelings, vague images…sometimes I can see flashes of very important things…" She squeezed her eyes shut and bit down on her bottom lip. "Someone's funeral, a wedding…and I can remember holding Danny the day he was born…" Her eyes popped open and she smiled. "I'm glad I get to keep that one."

Jack felt a profound sense of relief, the fear of Jade's mind being completely wiped beginning to fade.

"Will you know who we are?" Daniel asked curiously. "Will you know who _you_ are?"

"I don't know," Jade answered honestly. "Thor said he'd do his best to leave my most recent memories alone, but it would be hard to separate, since I haven't lived very long. He also said it may take a while for everything to come back." She heaved a heavy sigh and stretched her legs out below her. "I hate to think of having to learn everything all over again. You guys may be in for a frustrating few weeks."

Daniel reached into his pack and pulled out a notebook and pen, passing them over to Jade with a smile.

"Want to leave yourself a note…just in case?"

Her eyes widened and she eagerly took them from his hand, pulling her legs up to cross them beneath her. "Yes, thank you! I was actually thinking-"

She stopped and shook her head. "Never mind. I'll tell you later. Give me a few minutes, will you?"

Jack held up his hands and backed away, boldly dropping one arm over Sam's shoulder as she walked up next to him. Daniel raised his eyebrows in their direction, and Jack just flashed him a grin.

"Here's a thought," he said cheerfully as they all crossed to the other side of the room, giving Jade her space. "I have an extra room in my house…"

"So do I, sir," Sam interuppted.

"Yes, well…mine is bigger." He pulled her a little closer and smiled playfully. "Plus, _I_ have a telescope. And _very_ big windows."

Sam laughed quietly, leaning her head over on his shoulder. "Yes, sir. That is true."

Jack was pleasantly surprised by her sudden ease, and he wondered if she was as emotionally exhausted as he was from the day's events.

"Perhaps we can find your daughter accommodations of her own," Teal'c suggested, but Jack just glared at him.

"Over my dead body."

"Hey, guys," Daniel interjected, cautiously looking back at Jade before continuing in a low voice. "Are we going to have to tell everybody back home…you know…the truth about where she came from?"

This hadn't occurred to Jack, and he looked down questioningly at Sam.

"We should probably tell Janet," she said quietly. "She'll need to know if anything goes wrong."

Jack nodded slowly and looked around at the others. "I'll talk to General Hammond, but as for what we put in our reports…" He turned back to Jade, and she flashed him a smile before returning to her furious scribbling on the notepad in her lap.

"Jade O'Neill is our little girl, and that's all anybody ever needs to know."


	20. Chapter 20

**Almost to the end, guys! If you have any ideas for what you'd like to see before the story's over, please add them in your reviews. I'll see what I can fit in. Thanks!**

**OoOoOoOoO**

"Are you sure about this?"

Sam watched nervously as Thor fastened an Asgard hand device to his palm, his slow movements beginning to try her patience. Jade rested a hand on her arm and smiled reassuringly.

"Come on, Mom. If there's anybody you'd trust to mess with my head, wouldn't it be the Asgard?"

Sam didn't find this particularly reassuring, but she tried to hide her concern as she stepped back, taking her place with the others behind Thor. He stepped forward and cocked his head sideways at Jade.

"Are you ready for me to begin?"

"Wait," she said, holding up her hand to stop him. "Hold on a second." She stepped around Thor's small, gray body and stood in front of the group of four clustered behind him.

"Listen, I've been thinking," she began, rocking back and forth on her heels as she spoke. "About the future, and about preserving the timeline..." She ran her fingers through her hair and sighed. "Here's the thing. People are always saying that they're working towards a 'better tomorrow', or that they want a 'better future' for their children. But what we're all trying to preserve here is _not_ the better future. I know…I've seen it." Her eyes darkened and she looked seriously at each of the faces in front of her. "The decisions you made the first time around were not necessarily the right ones. You don't have to make the same decisions they did." When Jade's eyes met Colonel O'Neill's, she stopped and held his gaze. "Do you understand what I'm saying? It's _your_ future."

Jack seemed to be processing these words for a few seconds, and then his eyes jumped over to meet Sam's, his expression telling her that he understood exactly what Jade was saying. Their destinies were their own…the future was a clean slate. Why not try things a little differently this time around?

Jade reached into her pocket and pulled out the Asgard crystal and a small bundle of papers.

"Thor, please be sure this research is returned safely. Tell Sigyn he's on the right track…there is hope for your people." She placed the crystal in Thor's small hand and turned to stand in front of Teal'c.

"I need a favor," she told him, taking one sheet of paper from the thin stack and handing him the rest. "Please see to it that no one sees these notes except those they belong to."

Sam and Daniel exchanged glances, and she looked over to see the name "Janet" written on the folded sheet of paper on top.

"Jade…" she said cautiously, but Jack quieted her with a look. Bowing his head to Jade, Teal'c folded the notes together, sliding them into his pocket.

"You have my word."

Turning to Sam, Jade tried to explain. "My dad told me once that if I had the opportunity to help someone, it was my responsibility to do so. I believe that if he was in my place right now…" She flashed a smile at Jack. "…there's no way he would pass up the chance to fix some of the big mistakes made in his past." She raised her chin, a determined look on her face as she backed up and sat in the seat in front of Thor. "I want a better future for my family. I mean, that's the whole reason I was sent here, right?"

Instead of answering, Sam stepped up and hugged Jade tightly, planting a kiss on her forehead. Trying to keep her nervousness at bay, she backed up next to the others and wrapped her arms around herself.

"Thor," she pleaded. "_Please_ be careful."

The room was quiet as Thor raised his hand up over Jade's forehead, the small blue hand device glowing slightly. A visible stream of energy connected the device to Jade, and there was a quiet hum, Jade squeezing her eyes shut as Thor worked. The seconds dragged on, and Sam held her breath, her hand finding its way into Jack's and squeezing tightly. She wished she knew what he was thinking, but he could be so difficult to read, especially at times like these. His face was a blank as he watched Thor carefully with one hand in his pocket.

The hum suddenly ceased, and Sam turned sharply to see Thor step away from Jade.

"The procedure is complete," he said calmly, and he backed out of the way as they all hurried over to her side. Jade sat very still, her wide blue eyes taking in the faces around her. It felt like an eternity before she finally spoke.

"Hey," she said quietly, confusion written across her face.

"Do you know who I am?" Sam asked her gently, barely able to contain her anxiety.

"Of course," Jade answered, and relief flooded through Sam as Jade peeked over her shoulder at Thor, holding one hand against the top of her head.

"I think it worked," she told him, wincing slightly. "This is really weird."

Jack knelt down beside her and laid a hand on her arm.

"How much do you remember?"

Shaking her head slowly, Jade frowned and answered, "I don't know. Everything's kind of fuzzy."

"It will take time for her mind to adjust," Thor explained, stepping behind his control panel. "Do not be concerned, O'Neill. Her mind is intact." He pointed one finger to the screen next to him. "We are entering your solar system."

Sam had mixed feelings about returning home. It was hard to believe how little time had gone by since they'd left…it seemed like days. How would things ever return to normal after all that had happened? What was going to happen to Jade? What about herself and Colonel O'Neill?

The questions flooded her mind as she helped her daughter stand slowly, a deep frown on the girl's face as she leaned on Sam's arm.

"We're going home?" Jade asked nervously.

"Yeah," Sam replied with a smile, taking Jade's hand as they watched the familiar planets come into view. "You're going home."


	21. Chapter 21

**Everybody have a great weekend! :) **

**OoOoOoOoOoOoO**

It was hard to believe that it had been less than twenty-four hours since SG-1 had last sat around the table in the briefing room, and the General seemed aware of how worn out the team was, because he kept the briefing short. Sam tried hard to pay attention, but the day's events were beginning to take their toll, and she was having a hard time keeping her mind focused on the General's words.

"How is she now, Colonel?"

Jack toyed with the pen in his hands, working on balancing it on one end as he said simply, "Fraiser says she's going to be fine."

When it became obvious he wasn't going to elaborate, Daniel leaned forward over the table, straightening his glasses as he spoke.

"Jade knows who she is and why she's here, and she seems to know all of us, but she's got a lot of blank spaces that we'll have to help her fill in." When Hammond raised his eyebrows, Daniel blinked a few times and added, "For example, she knows that she was sent here to save the Asgard research, but she can't remember any details about what the research contained or how she learned about it."

Jack let his pen fall to the table with a quiet clatter and raised his eyes. "It's like there's a bunch of little chunks taken out of her memories, General. She's got little pieces floating around that's she's going to have to find a way to fit together."

"She is in need of a stable environment," Teal'c suggested, sharing a look with Jack across the table. "A place where she can feel comfortable and secure as she recovers."

Hammond chuckled quietly to himself. "Let me guess, Colonel. You already have something in mind."

"As a matter of fact, I do, sir."

The General folded his arms over the table and shook his head. "This is a huge responsibility, Jack. Are you sure you're ready for this? And what about Major Carter?" Sam jumped at hearing her name, looking up to see everyone's eyes on her.

"What's your opinion on where your daughter should live, Major?"

Sam blinked sleepily, trying to gather her thoughts as she spoke.

"Jade belongs with us, sir. I don't have a problem with her staying with Colonel O'Neill for now, as long as I'm welcome too."

As soon as the words were out of her mouth, Sam blushed furiously and tried to backpedal.

"I mean…not to stay…just _sometimes_…wait…"

Giving up, she covered her face with her hands as Jack grinned playfully next to her.

"Just sometimes?" he laughed.

General Hammond did not appear amused, his face sober as he asked seriously, "Do we have a problem here, people?"

Jack's smile disappeared and he sat up a little straighter in his chair.

"No, sir. Sorry, sir."

"Good," the General said firmly, rising up from his chair. "I think we've already got enough to deal with. Dismissed."

There was an awkward silence as the General turned abruptly and left the room, and Jack frowned in annoyance at his retreating figure and crossed his arms.

"Oh, for crying out loud," he grumbled. "This is just stupid. It's not like we don't all know what's going to happen. Me and Carter get married…big deal. It's not like it's going to happen any time soon."

Sam raised her eyebrows at this, and Jack gave her a confused look.

"I mean…unless you-"

"No, no," she assured him, holding up one hand. "I wasn't arguing."

Daniel cleared his throat awkwardly and stood from the table, the others following his lead. Sam paused in the doorway and frowned.

"Actually, you guys go on ahead. I've got to talk to the General about something."

Jack shrugged and left with Teal'c and Daniel, and Sam nervously made her way into Hammond's office, closing the door quietly behind her.

"Can I have a word with you, sir?"

The General gestured for her to sit down, adding his signature to the bottom of the sheet of paper in front of him before nodding to Sam.

"What can I do for you, Major?"

Sam took a deep breath before speaking, deciding to just be completely honest.

"General, we _do_ have a problem."

He didn't seem surprised by her words, leaning back in his chair and smiling slightly.

"I'm aware of that."

Sam trusted Hammond more than almost anyone else she had ever known, but it was still hard for her to speak openly about her feelings for Jack, and her words came out choppy and uncertain.

"Sir…if I just…I mean…normally, there wouldn't be-" She let her breath out in a huff, frustrated with her own nervousness. "If it was only that I had feelings for Colonel O'Neill, there would be no problem, General."

He nodded sympathetically. "But now you have Jade."

"Yes, sir," she sighed, relieved that he understood. "She needs both of us…she deserves to have both of us."

Hammond glanced at the closed door and lowered his voice. "Major, I appreciate your situation, but I cannot consent to a relationship between yourself and Colonel O'Neill."

Sam nodded slowly, looking down at her hands as she spoke her next words.

"I know that, sir. That's why I've decided to resign from the Air Force."

The General sat up sharply and stared at her in disbelief.

"You've _what_? Have you talked to Colonel O'Neill about this?"

She shook her head and looked up pleadingly.

"Please don't say anything to him, General. I'll tell him when the time is right." She sighed and leaned back in her chair, trying to focus her thoughts as she did her best to explain.

"Sir, you know how important the military is to me, and under normal circumstances, I would never even _think_ of doing this. But…I don't want to make the same mistakes that my father did." She felt a slight ache and swallowed the lump in her throat. "Family should always come first, sir, and Jade should never be made to feel that I chose my career over her."

Hammond shook his head in confusion. "Major, you don't have to resign to be this girl's mother."

She let the breath out of her lungs slowly, giving careful consideration to her next words.

"But I do have to resign to be Colonel O'Neill's wife…sir." She was afraid to look up, focusing on one of the picture frames on the General's desk instead. "If I want us to be a family…for us to raise her together...Please, sir. I've given this a lot of thought."

Hammond said nothing for a very long time, until finally he let out a long sigh, and Sam looked up to see him smiling at her.

"What do you plan to do?"

She shrugged her shoulders and glanced around the room. "I'd like to stay at the SGC if possible. I believe I'm doing the most good here, with this program." She ran her thumb over the seam on her pants and kept her eyes down as she added, "And you know, sir, SG-1 has two civilians already…"

The General chuckled quietly and shook his head. "We'll have to discuss that with Colonel O'Neill. Let me suggest that you take the time to talk to him about this before you make any final decisions. I'd like all of you to take a few days leave before your next mission. You don't have to decide anything right now."

Sam thanked the General and left feeling relieved, slowly making her way down to the elevator. She knew it was unlikely that she would change her mind, though she knew that's exactly what the Colonel would try to get her to do.

As she waited for the elevator to make it down, Sam slipped Jade's letter out of her pocket, re-reading the words that had been hurriedly scrawled on the wrinkled paper. There was a warning about her father, to get him to a doctor after "Dakara", whatever that was. There were a few bits of advice about her personal life, the oddest being the suggestion to "Tell Pete to take a hike," and one final message at the bottom. Sam eyed the words with a smile as she thought about the General's suggestion to have a talk with Jack, wondering if, just maybe, she should take Jade's advice.

At the very bottom of the page, her daughter had written two words in large, thick letters, underlining the suggestion with several heavy, black lines.

_Go fishing!_


	22. Chapter 22

**Boy am I a nerd. It's Saturday night and I'm writing fanfiction.**

**Hey, just to clear something up...I had a few people say that Pete would never be a factor since Jade appeared long before he showed up, but remember, Sam was set up with Pete by her brother. If I was Jade, I'd go ahead and give Sam a heads up just in case Mark tried to introduce them. Wouldn't you?**

**Please review!**

**OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO**

Sam tried to tell Colonel O'Neill of her plans to resign. She tried to tell him outside of the infirmary while they waited for Janet to release Jade into their care. She tried to tell him in the mess hall, between Jade's excited remarks about all of her plans for the future. She tried to tell him in the parking lot as they waited for Teal'c to bring his vehicle around. Unfortunately, every time she opened her mouth, she found herself chickening out, not sure she was ready for Jack's most likely reaction when he learned about what she was planning.

All four vehicles pulled into Jack's driveway that evening, and the members of SG-1, plus Jade, collapsed wherever they could find a seat in the Colonel's living room. They were all silent for several minutes, Jade lying flat on her back with her head rested on Sam's lap, and Sam played with the girl's hair as she raised her chin and spoke bravely, feeling more confident with the team around her.

"I have something I should tell you."

The others looked around for a moment, and Daniel raised his eyebrows at her.

"Tell who?"

"All of you, I guess," she answered, nervously rubbing her hands together. Jack turned his head sideways curiously, and she took a deep breath before continuing.

"I've decided to leave the Air Force."

Before anyone could jump in, she quickly added, "But I'll still be working at the SGC…hopefully. And who knows, I may even be allowed to be a part of SG-1…at least some of the time."

Jade had shot up and spun around, obviously aware of what this meant, and her eyes widened as she stared at her mother.

"This is because of me, isn't it? You're quitting because of me!"

"No, sweetie," Sam assured her. "It's not because of you."

"Then why?" Daniel asked with a scowl at Jack, as if it was somehow his fault. "Can't you just wait it out? Maybe you guys won't have to wait that long…"

Teal'c raised an eyebrow here and spoke up curiously. "We cannot be certain that this is not the same decision that Major Carter made in Jade O'Neill's timeline. Perhaps this is the reason she and Colonel O'Neill were able to get married."

"No way," Daniel argued. "Jade implied that she was still in the military in her time."

"She implied no such thing, Daniel Jackson."

As the others argued, Sam looked nervously up at Jack, surprised to see that he seemed to be the only one not affected by her news, still leaning calmly against the wall and staring at Sam. Finally, he stepped forward, hanging up the set of keys still in his hand as he spoke.

"Carter, can I have a word?"

The others hardly seemed to notice as she stood, stepping around Jade while the girl insisted to Daniel that she couldn't remember anything about her mother being in the military, Daniel arguing that Jade couldn't remember much of anything at all, so that proved nothing.

Sam followed Jack as he walked slowly down the hallway, ushering her into the bedroom at the end of the hall and closing the door behind her. She nervously looked around the room, eying the bookshelves and the pictures on the walls…the medals and miscellaneous fishing décor. Her eyes widened slightly when she noticed the bed against the wall, and she spun around to see Jack giving her a serious look.

"Carter, _what_ are you doing?"

She tried to remember what she had planned to say, but it was immensely distracting to be standing alone with him in his bedroom, of all places, and Sam found herself unconsciously taking a step towards him.

"I have to do this, sir."

He still didn't move, his hands sitting loosely in his pockets as he stood in front of the closed door.

"No, you don't." He continued to stare at her, his face revealing nothing as he added, "_I_ could retire."

Sam shook her head and took another step closer. "No, sir. Jade made it clear that you have a lot more saving the world to do. Besides, I can still be very useful to the SGC as a civilian."

"While I wouldn't," Jack added in with a smile.

It was strange to Sam how calm he seemed, and she wondered if maybe he was glad about her decision. This was not something she had considered, but it suddenly made sense. He would have never asked her to do resign, but he didn't seem to want to fight her on it either. The possible reasons for this made her stomach flutter a bit, and she took one more step, keeping her eyes fixed on his as she boldly spoke the words in her heart.

"I want to be with you."

She heard Jack's breath hitch slightly, his eyes returning to the intense state she had only seen once before…the evening she stood alone with him in his kitchen and he had gently caressed her skin…

"Sam," he said in a low voice, raising one hand to gently touch her face. His fingers slid up into her hair, and Sam felt like she was in a trance, taking one last step to close the gap between them. She was too close, and she knew it, but something kept her from pulling away, and she closed her eyes, tilting her head up slightly to let her lips just barely brush against his.

Jack made no move to stop her, letting his hand slide down to her neck and over her shoulder as she pressed her lips to his. She only meant to kiss him once…just to show him the things that she couldn't bring herself to say…but somehow, once was nowhere near enough. As soon as she had pulled back, she had to lean forward to taste him again, and again…and then Jack began to kiss her back and she was completely lost.

He wrapped both arms tightly around her waist, pressing one hand against her back as he pushed her against him. His kiss deepened, and Sam tugged at his shoulders, fitting her body against him as she dissolved into his sweet warmth. There was no denying what she was feeling, and for the first time in a very long while, Sam had absolutely no thoughts in her head except for one, and it had nothing to do with quantum mechanics.

The room spun around her as Jack's hands drifted up her sides and down below her back, his lips tugging at hers lightly as he pressed even tighter against her body. The room was completely silent except for both of their heavy breathing and Jade's raised voice drifting in from down the hall. The sound reminded Sam of where she was, and she tried very hard to focus her thoughts.

"Sir," she whispered, pulling back just enough to speak before he tugged her back to him.

"Mmm?" he mumbled in response, stepping forward and pushing her across the room gently. She felt the covers of the bed against the back of her legs, and she let out a sigh.

"The others are just down the hall…"

Jack pulled back slightly, leaning his forehead against hers as he nodded.

"Yeah…I know. Sorry."

She raised her eyes up to meet his, and he exhaled slowly, turning back to look at the door behind him. When he turned back to face her, there was a funny grin on his face, and he lifted her hands to lay them back over his shoulders, whispering into her neck as he pressed his lips to her skin.

"Five more minutes…"


	23. Chapter 23

**Well, wow. We are almost to the end...it's a shame I can't drag it out some more. But hey, it's got to end sometime. Stay tuned for the epilogue, and thank you so much for all of your reviews! :)  
**

**OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO**

The afternoon breeze was chilly, but the sun was warm and bright, streaks of light reflecting off of the surface of Jack's pond and sparkling on the still water. Jade lay out on the grass at the edge of the pond, wrapped in a warm sweater with her hair spread out beneath her head and her eyes on the clouds above her, while her parents sat quietly in lawn chairs set up on the dock, one of them occasionally casting a line out over the water. Jade watched from her place beside them as they spoke quietly to each other and linked their fingers together, and she had a strange feeling of déjà vu, as if she had experienced the moment before.

After her memories had been altered, Jade had at first felt disconnected from her parents and her friends. She knew their names…their faces…she knew exactly who they were, and yet, she had almost no memory of any of them. It was the strangest feeling, and she was relieved to find that it was slowly dissipating. As time went on, some of the cracks began to fill in, recent memories returning one by one. She could remember waking up in the isolation room, opening her eyes to see Janet standing over her. She remembered the talks with her parents and the hours spent with Daniel, pouring over books and maps. She could remember almost all of her time spent on the base, but her mind was a blank when she tried to recall her life from the future. Sam had explained what she could, but it was frustrating for Jade, not being able to remember things that had happened only a few weeks before. Her life seemed so short, only a month's worth of memories to visit in her mind, but she clearly remembered her reasons for the procedure, and she believed that it was for the best. She hoped that in time, she would be able to sort out the occasional flashes of images she saw, piecing together the leftover memories she had been given by her parents from the future. In the meantime, Jade was determined to fill up the empty spaces with new memories, and she tried to soak up every detail of the moment.

The trip to Minnesota had been rather sudden, Sam reminding Jack of his promise to take them all fishing after their mission. Teal'c and Daniel had even agreed to come along, and the five of them were having a terrific time, though Jade noticed that the guys didn't seem near as interested in fishing as her parents and herself. Of course, Jade had hardly had any chance to fish, with all the reading she'd been doing. She glanced over at the textbook lying out in the grass next to her and sighed. General Hammond had promised to consider allowing her to join her mother in working on the base if she could learn some of the basics of how the stargate worked and the physics behind the wormhole technology. It was especially irritating to know that she was learning a great deal of it all over again.

"You know," she said, breaking the afternoon silence and rolling over to prop herself up on her elbows. "I bet I could get a lot of studying done if you just let me stay at your house while you guys are gone, Dad. SG-1 shouldn't be away long, right? I mean, this mission to see the Tok'ra shouldn't take-"

"Forget it," Jack interrupted her, lazily stretching his feet out in front of him. "You're staying with Frasier and that's the end of it. You're lucky Hammond isn't making you stay on the base."

Sam turned to smile at Jade, squinting a bit in the sunlight. "You'll have Cassie to spend your time with. I bet you guys will get along great."

Jade picked a few blades of grass out of the ground and began shredding them with her fingers, her feet bouncing behind her. She didn't know anything about Cassie, except that she was from another planet, which seemed promising. "Did you decide on a new house yet?"

Jack released Sam's hand to reel in his line, tossing it out again and re-grasping her fingers before answering Jade's question.

"We've looked at a few. We seem to have very different ideas on what's big enough for three people."

He gave Sam a playful grin, and the two of them sat smiling at each other while Jade watched with interest from her place in the grass.

It seemed strange to their friends, especially Daniel, that Jack and Sam were suddenly so close, but Jade couldn't understand why. It seemed like the most natural thing in the word to her, and she wondered if this was because, somewhere deep inside, she held pieces of their future memories. It was if those feelings were a part of her, and it would feel terribly wrong if her parents were apart.

Things were hardly simple where this was concerned. Jade didn't know all of what the General had discussed with them, only that they were to keep their relationship professional when they were on duty, and Sam would be left on SG-1 on a trial basis. There was talk around the base that they were going to get married before the year was out, but they hadn't discussed it with her and she was content to wait patiently.

"Hey, Jack!"

All three turned to see Daniel leaning out the back door of Jack's cabin, one hand over his eyes as he shielded them from the afternoon sun. Jack gave him a nod, gesturing for him to join them, and Daniel slowly wandered down to the pond, his arms crossed over his chest as he shuffled his feet.

"Teal'c wants to know if we should go pick up a pizza," he said, once he had reached the group next to the water. "Unless, of course, you plan on catching something."

Sam laughed to herself, and Jade peered at the water curiously.

"Actually, Daniel," she told him. "I'm starting to think there aren't even any fish in this pond."

This statement resulted in more laughter, and Jade pulled her arms inside of her sleeves, sitting up and shivering slightly as Teal'c came walking slowly out of the house to join them. She crawled forward on her knees until she made her way next to Sam, leaning her head over on her lap as she watched the lines stretching out over the water. Her mother passed her the fishing pole and patted the top of her head, and Jade watched Daniel plopped down in the grass nearby, leaning back on his hands as he chatted enthusiastically about their next mission. Teal'c stood stoically watching the still pond in front of him, and her father leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes, his fingers still wound around Sam's as he propped up his pole next to him in his chair. Jade let out a contented sigh as she leaned her head backwards to look up at her mother. Sam's eyes were bright and warm, her happiness plain as she smiled down at her daughter.

Things were going to be different. Jade felt a bit nervous when she thought about what her presence had done to the natural course of events, and the fact that she could no longer predict how things were going happen was terrifying. It wasn't going to be easy, and there were many challenges ahead for everyone. Still, looking into her mother's eyes, Jade couldn't be anything but glad. She had given her family a brand new start, and she wondered if maybe that's what it had been about all along. She had been sent to save the world, but what she had really been trying to save was them.

Jade sighed and closed her eyes, her cheek pressed against Sam's knee as she listened to the peaceful sounds around her, dreaming of the bright new future laid out before them.

At last, she was home.


	24. Epilogue

**FOUR YEARS LATER**

Sam kicked the car door closed with her foot, carrying three bags of groceries in one hand and holding the wrist of her toddler with the other. Little Danny raised up his arms and grinned at her, pointing to the bags in her hand.

"I'll take somefing, Mommy," he offered sweetly, and she patted him on the head and handed him a loaf of bread as they crossed the front yard and climbed up on the porch. Sam rolled her eyes when she found the front door unlocked, and she shifted the groceries in her hands as she nudged Danny inside and hurried into the kitchen to set the bags down.

The cell phone in her pocket began to ring, and Sam shoved aside a stack of papers on the table to drop the groceries, keeping one eye on Danny as he emptied a tub of toys onto the living room floor.

"Hello?" she said into the phone, glancing around for evidence that her husband was home as she began putting groceries away.

"_Hey Mom! It's me."_

"Jade!" Sam smiled down at Danny as his head shot up at the name. "I'm so glad to hear from you, sweetie. Your father was really starting to worry. When did you get back?"

Sam smiled at the familiar sounds of the SGC in the background, squatting down on the floor and putting her phone on speaker so little Danny could hear his sister's voice.

"_A couple of hours ago. Things were pretty tense there for a while."_

Sam handed the phone to Danny as she finished emptying the bags on the table, listening to Jade tell about her mission and trying to read between the lines of what she was allowed to say over the phone. When she was finally free to sit down, she lifted Danny into her arms and carried him to the couch, settling into the cushions as his chubby fingers gently held the phone.

"How's Colonel Mitchell working out?"

"_Oh, I like him a lot,"_ Jade answered, and Sam squinted at the phone suspiciously_. "He's really funny, but he knows what he's doing. We're supposed to go to dinner tonight, if I can ever get finished with the reports I've got stacked up."_

Sam took the phone from Danny's hands and returned it to her ear. "Excuse me?"

"_Oh, not just us," _Jade corrected quickly._ "Daniel's coming too, if we can drag him away from his Atlantis research. How are you guys liking D.C.?"_

Frowning at the obvious change of subject, Sam helped Danny down from her lap and humored her daughter.

"It's fine. I think your Dad really misses Colorado, but we're getting used to it. I think-"

"Daddy!"

Sam turned to see Danny running towards the stairs, Jack reaching his arms out as he hopped down the last step, his shirt half unbuttoned and his damp hair dripping down his neck. He lifted Danny up and tossed him in the air, throwing him over his shoulder and carrying the giggling toddler over to the couch, where he plopped down next to Sam and kissed her forehead.

"Who's that?" he asked, pulling Danny into his lap and tickling his ribs.

Sam mouthed Jade's name, trying to hear her daughter's voice over the sound of Danny's squealing.

"_Is that Dad? Can I talk to him?"_

She traded the phone for Danny, letting him climb up on her shoulders as she watched a smile break out across Jack's face.

"Hey, baby. Where've you been?"

Watching as Jack chatted with their daughter, Sam's thoughts drifted to the past four years, and how things had turned out so differently from what she had expected. Who knew Jack would wind up as head of Homeworld Command, that she would be his wife, that they'd have little Danny in their lives after all. She now spent two weeks out of every month in Nevada, working at Area 51, and Jade had taken her place on SG-1. Daniel would be off to Atlantis soon, Teal'c would probably remain on Dakara…things were changing so fast, it was difficult to keep up.

"Oh, tell her we said hi too," Jack said into the phone, and he lowered it slightly to whisper to Sam. "Janet said to tell us hello."

Sam's eyes brightened and she nodded eagerly, wincing as Danny slid off her shoulders, pulling at her hair as he came down.

"Oh, okay. Well say hey to everybody from us, okay? Oh, and Danny's giving you a big wave…" Jack turned the speaker back on as Jade said her final goodbyes.

"_Love you guys! Give little Danny a kiss for me! I'll be home in a couple of weeks. Bye!"_

There was a click as she hung up, and Danny leaned over to yell one last goodbye, slipping off of the couch and returning to his toys strewn all over the floor. Jack stretched an arm out behind Sam's shoulders, and she leaned against him with a sigh.

"Things turned out pretty good, huh Sam?"

She watched her little boy pushing his wooden train across the carpet, holding his blonde hair out of his eyes as he made noisy train sounds and grinned up at her. She glanced up at the pictures on the walls…one of SG-1, of their wedding day, of Janet and Cassie…and one of Jade, her bright blue eyes shining as she shook hands with General Hammond and accepted her first position at Stargate Command. Sam leaned against Jack's shoulder and smiled, shaking her head slowly.

"You know, I can't imagine a happier ending."

**OoOoOoOoOoOoO**

**Thank you so much for all of your reviews! I really mean it...it was so much fun to write this story and have all of you so into it with me. It was a blast! THANK YOU! :)**


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